ML20148G512

Forwards Four Applications for Licenses to Import South African Origin U,Per 1986 Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, for Info.W/O Applications.Us Intl Trade Commission Publication Encl

ML20148G512
Person / Time
Issue date:	01/06/1987
From:	Moore R NRC OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS (OIP)
To:	Pruzan J ENERGY, DEPT. OF
References
NUDOCS 8803290168
Download: ML20148G512 (6)

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U NOTE TO: Jerry Pruzan, DOE FROM:

R. Neal Moore, Sr. Licensing Officer Export / Import and International Safeguards Office of International Programs NRC regulations 10 CFR 110 were revised on December 31, 1986 (51 FR 47207) to delete the general license with respect to the import of uranium of South African origin. A specific license for the import of Soutn African origin uranium must be requested and obtained.

Four import license requests have been received as of January 6 for the import of South African origin uranium.

Because of the continuing interest generated by Public Law 99-440, the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, these four import applications are fonvarded for your information.

For further information contact:

R. Neal Moore, Office of International Programs, U.S. NRC, (301-492-7984).

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i R. Neal Moore, Sr. Licensing Officer Export / Import and International Safeguards Office of International Programs

Enclosures:

As stated l

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THE IMPACT OF RULES OF ORIGIN 4

ON U.S. IMPORTS AND EXPORTS

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8 RULg3 0F ORIGIN AND THgIR OPERATION Rules of Origin of the United States An identificaticn of the country of origin of goods is required for all cosumercial shipments into the United States.

The appropriate customs form must be used, containing the importer's declaration as to the origin of the 1

goods, and, where required, a certificate of orisin.

Products wholly obtained in'one country have that country as their origin. Theterm"whollyobtained"isnoh.,however,definedinUnitedStates statutes. Whan more than one country is involved in the manufacture of a

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product, the country of origin of the goods is generally the last country in which the goods underwent a substantial transformation.

"Substantial trans-formation" is defined i$t U.S. Customs Service Regulations for purposes of some origin determinations, but not for all. 1/

Wonpreferential Origin Determinations The need to d'etermine the nonpreferential origin of imported goods arises primarily because of the U.S. marking statute (19 U.S.C. 1304(a)).

This 1,aw provides that every article of foreign origin baported into the United States must be "marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the arti't:le (ce container) will permit in such manner as to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article."

U.S. Customs Service Regulations define "country of origin" to mean "the country of manufacture, production, or growth 1/ Country of origin is defined in one U.S. statute, 19 U.S.C. 2518 for purposes of the Agreement on Government Procurement.

See pages 35-36 of this report.

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c of*any crticlo of foroign crigin entering th3 Unitcd States, Furth3r work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial l

transformation in order to render such other country the ' country of origin' I

within the meaning of this part" (19 CFR 134.1(b)).

A number of judicial opinions have interpreted "substantial transforma-tion" for purposes of the marking statute.

In Uniroyal. I.nc. v. United States 7

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(542 F. Supp. (1982), aff'd., 702 F. 2d 1022 (1983)), the Court of Appeals for the Federab Circuit affirmed the finding of the Court of International Trade that a manuf acturing process in which outsoles were attached to imported footwear uppers did not effect a "substantial transformation" of the I

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merchandise. The cartons in which the uppers were packed, but not the uppers l

l themselves, had been marked "made in Indonesia".

However, the footwear uppers l'

had to be excluded from entry since they carried no indication of the country of origin to the ultimate purchaser of the merchandise in the United States.

l The court looked to the following customs regulation for a definition of 1

"ultimate purchaser":

The "ultimate purchaser" is generally the last person in the United States who will receiva the article in the form in which it was imported.

(1) If an imported arcicle will be used in manufacture, the manufacturer may be the "ultimate purchaser" if he subjects the imported article to a process which results in a substantial transformation of the article, even though the process may not result in a new or different article.

(19 CFR 134.1(d))

l In effect, this regulation defines what is necessary to change the country of origin of an article from foreign to United States origin, thereby eliminating l

any further need for marking in accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1304.

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10 The court also made reference to 19 CFR 134.35, which provides as follows:

Article's substantially chanaed by manufacture.

An article used in the United States in manufacture'which results in an article having a name, character, or use differing from that of the imported article, will be~within the principle of *:.he decision in the case of United States v.

Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (C.A.D. 98). Under this principle, the manufacturer or processor in the United States who converts or combines the imported article into the different article will be considered the "ultimate purchaser" of the imported article within the contemplation of section 304(a), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304(a)),

and the article shall be excepted from marking. The outer-most containers of the imported articles shall be marked in accord with this part.

In reaching its conclusion that a substantial transformation of the uppers did not' occur during the manufacturing process, the court pointed out that the process of attaching the uppers to the outsoles was si5nificantly less time consuming and less costly than the process of manufacturing the upper, and that the manufacture of the upper required a great deal more in the way of technical skill. Since the attachment of the outsoles was a minor manufac-turing process leaving the identity of the upper intact, the process did not result in an article having a name, character, or'uso differing from that of the imported article. Therefore, since the manufacturer was not the ultimate purchaser, the fact that the country of origin was indicated to him was not

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sufficLent.

Section 1304 was amended by the Trade and Tariff Act of 1984 to add new subsections governing the' marking of certain imported pipes, pipe fittings, compressed gas cylinders, and manhole rings or frames, covers, and assemblies.

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The new subsections require that pipes and pipe fittings and manhole rings or 4

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11 frames, ccytes, and essemblico be marked with the English name of the country of origin 'oy means of die stamping, cast-in-mold lettering, etching, or engrav-i ing. Compressed gas cylinders are to be marked by means'of die stamping, molding, etching, raised lettering, or an equally permanent method of marking.

No U.S. statute or regulat'Lon defines country of origin for statistical Therefore, the marking statute's definition of substantial transfor-purposes.

motion is applied. The country.of origin of a product imported into the j

United States is the last country in which a substantial transfocisation of any materials or cesiponents imported into that country occurred. Of course, if no imported materials were used in the manufacture of the product in the country from which the goods ware exportied to the United States, the merchandise is considered "wholly obtained" in that country and clearly has that country as its country of origin.

l Prefersntial Rules of Origin Most-favored-nation (MFM) treatment The United States, consistent with its GATT'oblig,ations, sets MFW duty l

ratesthatapplytoihortationsfrommostcountries. These rates appear in 1

column 1 of the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) in accordance with gene'ral headnote 3(h), andakeapplicabletoproductsofallcountries not given special treatment in accordance with some ottier preferential program set out in 4eneral headnote 3. In the absence of a speciti preference, these

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MFM tates apply to all products except those imported directly or indirectly feos one of the communist countries listed in general hesdnote 3(f). Products from Coenunist countries receive the column 2 duty rate.

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D0 CO$iWCT0fl TR18UNE i cosh 0CION,0.

i PM & SUN 4500 N/*

JAN-17-8 7 Not aR S. Africa uranium banned

'e WASHINGTON - The white-processing and resale abroad, minority governmentin Pretoria can CAP ON TOP: Out of the rubble of still export uranium to the United gg

}{gg.@.bg))d shattered reputations created by the States despite explicit ssoctions Iran / contra arms scandal, Defense 4

against South African uranium S

Secretary Caspar Weinberger has

, imports that Congress imposed over

' iM emerged not only unscathed but P esident Reagan's veto.

'-Se3 By Jack h stronger than ever. The former ne reason is twofold: a sloppuy infantry captain distanced himself

, written law and the Reagan aami-from the entire fiasco, even though it nistration's apparent willingness to was his department that provided

exploit the loopholes Congress inad-uranium imports.

the mt!!tary hardware for the secret i vertently put in the legislation.

A rently because of that warn. deal.

Uranium exports are an important

ing, made no mention of Unlike his old Cabinet sparring source of income for South Africa, uranium when it issued proposed Partner, Secretary of State George

. [ particularly since the depression in regulations for most im in Shultz, Weinberger managed to

, the gold market in recent years. November, nen, in guide sent avoid blame without appearing to Much of Smth Africa's uranium to the Customs Service to take effect criticize President Reagan. Though t comes from Namibia, which the Jan.1, the Treasury listed uranium Shultz hung onto his job, White House i Pretoria regime has occupied in ore and oxide from South Africa as sarces say he is no longer first

, defiance of U.N. directives since prohibited - but did not mention among equals in the Cabinet; Wein-1 IMO-uranium hexaDuoride. AM even the berger is.

Under the Reagan administration ore and oxide "shall be aHowed

%e strongest evidence of Weinber-i

, South Africa's uranium exports have temporarUy under bond for process. Ser's ascent was the apteint:nent of increased signincantly, even ing and reexportation," accordmg Frank Carlucci as the new national U.S. producers have been hurt by to the guidelines' security adviser. Carlucci was competition from imported uranium named deputy defense secretary at mined by low-paid African workers.

Meanwhile, on Dec. In* hicar Wein er's insistence, and is wide-l It was precisely because of Redeev Commission voted to ly rega as a "Weinberger man."

uranium's value to the Pretoria require s3R'lal licenses for all More to the point, Carlucciis both government that Congress sxght to uranlur.1 imports of South African competent tai tough; unlike his forbid the imports. The intent vas to origin. Importers were ordered to immediate predecessors, he won't punish South Africa economically file separate spplications for ore, allow himself to be pushed around by until it moderated its apartheid oxide and hexacuoride. A commis. Shultz Foggy Bottom's dominance policy.

sion spokesman told us, "Our in foreign policy was most dramati-l Rep. William Richardson, D-N.M.,

lawyers are not regarding hexafluor. cally demonstrated at the Reyk}avik an advocate of the sanction, told our ide as part of the congressional ban."

summit. De State Department had associate Vicki Warren that tran-80 people there; the Joint Chiefs of seriats of the House floor debate e Ti>e commission spokesman'said Staff had only three representatives the bill make it clear that the intent the lawyers regard uranium ore and even though arms control was the was to ban all uranium of South oxide as nrohibited imports, and said main item on the agende.

African origin.

that if treasury doesn't, the two Under Robert McFarlane, the But it is equa'ly clear, accordmg to agencies would "butt heads." De National Security Council was Treasury and Nuclear Regulatory commission is dismayed that Treas. reduced to a virtual appendage of the Commission officials, that the wora-ury has not stated its position public. State Department - and except for ing of the law allows imports of ly because "this is not a matter of Lt. Col. Oliver North, this situation uranium hexafluoride, a gaseous national security," the spokesman continued under Adm. William form made from concentrated added.

Poindexter.

State's ascendancy might have urani un ore. nis is the form the Energy Department uses to make Seven members of Congress lasted indefinitely if Shultz's candi-enriched uranium, which it then sells tered a protest. In a strongly w date had been picked to replace to foreign governments, letter to the president, they said Poindexter. Shultz's first choice was ne administration's intent to use Treasury's evioent intent to use the former Undersecretary of State the hexafluoride loophole first hexzDuoride loophole "would render Lawrence Eagleburger: his second became known on Capitol Hill during the utanf um sanction totally traffec-was David Abshire, who was eventu-

. a congressional briefing by Treasury tive and meaningless."

ally appointed to handle public rela-officials last October. De officials Unless the sanction law is rewrit-tions for the White House on the I

were told bluntly that there would be ten by Congress, the Energy De%rt-scandal.

I trouble if they flouted Congress' ment will be allowed to continue C 1987, Unitea Feature Syndicate, desire to ban all South African importing uranium bezaDuoride for Inc.

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