12 2 STA T .54 1 9PROCL A M AT I O N83 34 —DE C. 31 , 2 0 08 portuni ti es to ser v e a s m entors in t h eir c ommunities , an d too b serve this month w ith appropriate activities and pro g rams .INW I T N ES SW H E R E OF , I have hereunto set m y hand this thirtieth day o fD ecember, in the year of our L ord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the U nited States of A merica the two hundred and thirty - third. G EORGE W. B USH Proclam a ti o n83 3 4 o fDe cem b er3 1,20 08 ToExtendDu t y-Fr ee Tre a t m ent f or C erta i n Ag ri c u l tural P roduct s of I srael and for O t h er Pur p oses BythePr e sid e n t of the U nited S t a tes of Am eri c a A Proc l amation 1 . On Apri l2 2,1 985 , the United States and Israel entered into the Agreement on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Israel ( USIFTA ) , which the C ongress approved in the United States- Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act of 1985 (the ‘ ‘USIFTA Act ’ ’) (19 U.S.C. 2112 note). 2. In order to maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually ad- vantageous concessions with respect to agricultural trade with Israel, on J uly 2 7 ,2 0 0 4 , the United States entered into an agreement with Israel concerning certain aspects of trade in agricultural products dur- ing the period January 1, 2004, through December 3 1, 2008 (the ‘‘2004 Agreement’’). The 2004 Agreement reflects an effort by the United States and Israel to address, through 2008, their continuing differences over the meaning of certain provisions in the USIFTA governing access for U.S. agricultural products to Israel’s mar k et. 3. Section 4(b) of the USIFTA Act provides that, whenever the P resi- dent determines that it is necessary to maintain the general level of re- ciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions with respect to Israel provided for by the USIFTA, the President may proclaim such with- drawal, suspension, modification, or continuance of any duty, or such continuance of e x isting duty-free or excise treatment, or such addi- tional duties as the President determines to be re q uired or appropriate to carry out the USIFTA. 4. In Proclamation 782 6 of October 4, 2004, consistent with the 2004 Agreement, I proclaimed modifications to the Harmoni z ed Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) to provide duty-free access into the United States through December 31, 2008, for specified quantities of certain agricultural products of Israel. 5. On December 10, 2008, the United States entered into an agreement with Israel to extend the period that the 2004 Agreement is in force through December 31, 2009, to allow additional time for the two gov- ernments to conclude an agreement to replace the 2004 Agreement. 6. Pursuant to section 4(b) of the USIFTA Act, I have determined that it is necessary, in order to maintain the general level of reciprocal and
�
