TO :	Directors, Field Operations
FROM :	Executive Director, Trade Programs Office of Field Operations
SUBJECT:	Implementation Information on the Provisions of the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement

Background:
The U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was signed on October 24, 2000. The Agreement provides for the elimination of duties and commercial barriers to bilateral trade in goods and services originating in the United States and Jordan.

The U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Area Implementation Act ("the JFTA Act") (Public Law 107-43, 115 Stat. 243) (19 U.S.C. 2112 Note) was signed into law on September 28, 2001. Sections 101 and 102 of the JFTA authorized the President to proclaim the tariff modifications and provide the rules of origin for preferential tariff treatment with respect to products of Jordan provided for under the Agreement.

Presidential Proclamation 7512, dated December 7, 2001, and published in the Federal Register on December 13, 2001 (66 FR 64497), implemented the FTA and contains two annexes that embody the modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) necessary to implement the provisions of the JFTA. The effective date for the JFTA was December 17, 2001.

Pursuant to section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2483), Annex I to Proclamation 7512 amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) by adding a new General Note 18 concerning the JFTA and a new Subchapter IX to Chapter 99 to provide for the temporary tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) implemented by the JFTA.

Please refer to QBT-2001-595 and QBT-2001-596 dated December 11, 2001, for additional information on the import restraint limits and reporting instructions for 2001 and 2002 TRQs under the JFTA.

Annex II to Proclamation 7512 lists the HTS numbers that have an immediate free rate of duty, the Chapter 1-97 HTS numbers that are subject to TRQs, and the schedule of the staged tariff reductions for products of Jordan.

JFTA General Orgin Rules:
Section 102 of the JFTA Act provides for the rules of origin to determine if a good qualifies for preferential tariff treatment under the Agreement. Under the FTA, a good shall qualify for preferential tariff treatment as a "Product of Jordan," only if:

1. the good is imported directly from Jordan into the U.S. and is wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of Jordan; or
2. the good is imported directly from Jordan into the U.S. and is a new or different article of commerce that has been grown, produced, or manufactured in Jordan; and
3. the sum of (1) the cost or value of the materials produced in Jordan, plus (2) the direct costs of processing operations performed in Jordan is not less than 35% of the appraised value of the article at the time it is entered into the territory of the U.S.
4. If the cost or value of materials produced in the customs territory of the United States is included with respect to an article for purposes of determining the 35% domestic content, an amount not to exceed 15 percent of the appraised value of the article at the time it is entered that is attributable to such United States cost or value may be applied toward determining the 35%.

Simple combining or packaging operations or mere dilution with water or another substance is not sufficient to confer origin for purposes of the Agreement.

There is no exception from the payment of the merchandise processing fees provided for in the FTA. Such fees must be paid on entries of merchandise for which a claim for preferential tariff treatment under the JFTA is made.

Merchandise entered under a Qualified Industrial Zone (QIZ) is not impacted by the JFTA. Because certain products will be staged, it may still be advantageous to enter under the duty rates for those products manufactured in a QIZ.

CBP is currently preparing implementing regulations relating to the U.S.-Jordan FTA. It is anticipated that the regulations will be published as a notice of proposed rulemaking, soliciting comments from the public, during the first few months of 2002.

JFTA Textile and Apparel Articles Orgin Rules:
The following criteria shall be used to determine whether a textile or apparel article is a "Product of Jordan" pursuant to the provisions set forth under the JFTA Act:

1. A textile or apparel article imported directly from Jordan into the Customs territory of the United States shall be eligible for preferential tariff treatment only if the following conditions are met:
1. the article is wholly obtained or produced in Jordan;
2. the article is a yarn, thread, twine, cordage, rope, cable or braiding, and
1. the constituent staple fibers are spun in Jordan, or
2. the continuous filament is extruded in Jordan;
3. the article is a fabric, including a fabric classified in chapter 59 of the HTS, and the constituent fibers, filaments or yarns are woven, knitted, needled, tufted, felted, entangled or transformed by any other fabric-making process in Jordan; or
4. the article is any other textile or apparel article that is wholly assembled in Jordan from its component pieces.

Textile and apparel articles not wholly obtained or produced in Jordan must comply with the above conditions and the value requirements, as described under "General Origin Rules".

2. An article is "wholly obtained or produced in Jordan" if it is wholly the growth, product or manufacture of Jordan.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of (1)(D) and except as provided in (5) and (6), the provisions of (1)(A), (1)(B) or (1)(C), as appropriate, shall determine whether a good that is classified in one of the following headings or subheadings of the HTS shall be considered to meet the requirements as described under "General Origin Rules"; 5609, 5807, 5811, 6209.20.50 (the requirement of this subdivision applies only to babies' diapers of this provision), 6213, 6214, 6301, 6302, 6304, 6305, 6306, 6307.10, 6307.90, 6308 and 9404.90.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of (1)(D) and except as provided in (5) and (6), a textile or apparel article which is knit-to-shape in Jordan shall be considered to meet the requirements as described under "General Origin Rules".
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of (1)(D), a good classified in subheading 6117.10, heading 6213 or 6214 or subheadings 6302.22, 6302.29, 6302.52, 6302.53, 6302.59, 6302.92, 6302.93, 6302.99, 6303.92, 6303.99, 6304.19, 6304.93, 6304.99, 9404.90.85 or 9494.90.95 of the HTS, except for a good classified in any such provision as of cotton or of wool or consisting of fiber blends containing 16 percent or more by weight of cotton, shall be considered to meet the requirements as described under "Rules of Origin" if the fabric in the good is both dyed and printed in Jordan, and such dyeing and printing is accompanied by two or more of the following finishing operations: bleaching, shrinking, fulling, napping, decating, permanent stiffening, weighting, permanent embossing or moireing.
6. Notwithstanding the provisions of (1)(C), a fabric classified in the HTS as of silk, cotton, man-made fiber, or vegetable fiber shall be considered to meet the requirements as described under "Rules of Origin" if the fabric is both dyed and printed in Jordan, and such dyeing and printing is accompanied by two or more of the following finishing operations: bleaching, shrinking, fulling, napping, decating, permanent stiffening, weighting, permanent embossing or moireing.
7. If the origin of a textile or apparel article cannot be determined under the provisions of (1) or (3) through (6), inclusive, then that article shall be considered to be a "Product of Jordan", as described under "General Origin Rules" if-
1. the most important assembly or manufacturing process occurs in Jordan, or
2. the applicability of the requirements as described under "General Origin Rules" cannot be determined under subdivision (A), the last important assembly or manufacturing occurs in Jordan.

Eligable Articles:
Attached is a list of the HTS item numbers that are eligible for immediate duty-free treatment with respect to goods of Jordan entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after December 17, 2001, pursuant to Annex II of Presidential Proclamation 7512.

The staged tariff reductions for all other products can be located in the Federal Register (66 FR 64497-64734), dated December 13, 2001, which can be found at the following web site address:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a011213c.html

The Proclamation is included in the "Presidential Documents" section. The annex, including the staged rate reductions, can only be viewed by opening the .PDF files.

Importer Requirements:
If preferential tariff treatment is claimed at the time of entry, a written claim shall be filed on the entry document by placing the symbol "JO" as a prefix to the subheading of the HTS for each article for which such treatment is claimed.

Whenever an importer enters an article as eligible for the preferential treatment provided by the FTA, the importer shall be deemed to certify that such article qualifies for the preferential treatment provided for by the Agreement.

The importer shall be prepared to submit to CBP, upon request, a declaration setting forth all pertinent information concerning the production or manufacture of the article. Such necessary information for the preparation of the declaration must be retained in the importer's files for a period of 5 years. The information on the declaration should contain at least the following:

1. A description of the article, quantity, numbers, and marks of packages, invoice number, and bills of lading;
2. A description of the operations performed in the production of the article in Jordan and identification of the direct costs of processing operations;
3. A description of any materials used in production of the article which are wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of Jordan, and a statement as to the cost or value of such materials;
4. A description of the operations performed on, and a statement as to the origin and cost or value of, any foreign materials used in the article which are claimed to have been sufficiently processed in Jordan so as to be materials produced in Jordan; and
5. A description of the origin and cost or value of any foreign materials used in the article, which have not been substantially transformed in Jordan.

The declaration shall be prepared, signed and submitted upon request to the CBP officer concerned.

Exclusions:
Pursuant to the JFTA, a good shall not be considered to meet the requirements to be a "Product of Jordan" if the good:

1. is imported into Jordan, and, at the time of importation, would be classified under heading 0805 of the HTS; and
2. is processed in Jordan into a good classified under any of subheadings 2009.11 through 2009.30 of the HTS.

Termination of Agreement:
There is no set expiration date for the JFTA. However, the provisions of and amendments made by the JFTA Act will cease to be effective upon the termination of the Agreement by written notification from either the U.S. or Jordan. The FTA will expire six months after the date of such notification.

Verification by CBP:
Customs may request the importer's declaration when it is verifying the validity of a claim for preferential tariff treatment under the JFTA, and any and all supporting documentation upon which the completed declaration was based, as described under "Importer Responsibilities."

Action:
Effective immediately, importers may file claims for preferential tariff treatment of designated articles that originate in Jordan. Such claims shall be made at the time of filing the entry summary by placing on the document the Special Program Indicator (SPI) "JO" as a prefix to the HTS item number for each article for which such treatment is claimed.

As of the writing of these instructions, the Automated Commercial System (ACS) has not been updated to allow for automated processing of these entries. Therefore, until further notice from the Office of Trade Programs at Customs Headquarters, importers claiming preference under the Jordan FTA must file their entries manually.

In addition, importers or their agents may avail themselves of all available post-entry procedures, with the exception of NAFTA 520(d) claims, to receive a refund of duties for eligible Jordanian articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after December 17, 2001, the effective date of Presidential Proclamation 7512.

Copies of this memorandum should be made available to Port Directors; Assistant Port Directors, Trade; Import and Entry Specialists; Inspectors; brokers; importers and other interested parties.

Questions regarding the non-textile provisions of the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement should be directed to Arlene Lugo, Trade Agreements Branch, at (202) 927-4183.

For information regarding textile and wearing apparel policy under the JFTA, please contact Susan Thomas, at (202) 927-3719 or Robert Abels, at (202) 927-1959, of the Textile Operations Branch.

/signed/
Anne K. Lombardi, for

Elizabeth G. Durant

Attachment DOC PDF

cc: Executive Director, Field Operations