§ 3311. Approval and entry into force of North American Free Trade Agreement

(a) Approval of Agreement and statement of administrative action Pursuant to section 2903 of this title and section 2191 of this title, the Congress approves—

(1) the North American Free Trade Agreement entered into on December 17, 1992, with the Governments of Canada and Mexico and submitted to the Congress on November 4, 1993; and

(2) the statement of administrative action proposed to implement the Agreement that was submitted to the Congress on November 4, 1993.

(b) Conditions for entry into force of Agreement The President is authorized to exchange notes with the Government of Canada or Mexico providing for the entry into force, on or after January 1, 1994, of the Agreement for the United States with respect to such country at such time as—

(1) the President—

(A) determines that such country has implemented the statutory changes necessary to bring that country into compliance with its obligations under the Agreement and has made provision to implement the Uniform Regulations provided for under article 511 of the Agreement regarding the interpretation, application, and administration of the rules of origin, and

(B) transmits a report to the House of Representatives and the Senate setting forth the determination under subparagraph (A) and including, in the case of Mexico, a description of the specific measures taken by that country to—

(i) bring its laws into conformity with the requirements of the Schedule of Mexico in Annex 1904.15 of the Agreement, and

(ii) otherwise ensure the effective implementation of the binational panel review process under chapter 19 of the Agreement regarding final antidumping and countervailing duty determinations; and

(2) the Government of such country exchanges notes with the United States providing for the entry into force of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation and the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation for that country and the United States.

(Pub. L. 103–182, title I, § 101, Dec. 8, 1993, 107 Stat. 2061.)

Effective Date

Effective Date; Termination of NAFTA Status

Pub. L. 103–182, title I, § 109, Dec. 8, 1993, 107 Stat. 2067, provided that:

“(a) Effective Dates.—

“(1)In general.—This title [enacting this subchapter and amending provisions set out as a note under section 2112 of this title] (other than the amendment made by section 107 [amending provisions set out as a note under section 2112 of this title]) takes effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 8, 1993].

“(2)Section 107 amendment.—The amendment made by section 107 takes effect on the date the Agreement enters into force between the United States and Canada [Jan. 1, 1994].

“(b)Termination of NAFTA Status.—During any period in which a country ceases to be a NAFTA country, sections 101 through 106 [enacting this section and sections 3312 to 3316 of this title] shall cease to have effect with respect to such country.”

Miscellaneous

North American Free Trade Agreement: Entry Into Force

A Presidential Memorandum on the Implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, dated Dec. 27, 1993, directing the Secretary of State to exchange notes with the Government of Canada and the Government of Mexico to provide for the entry into force of the Agreement on Jan. 1, 1994, is set out in 29 Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 2641, Jan. 3, 1994.

Executive Order

Ex. Ord. No. 12889. Implementation of North American Free Trade Agreement

Ex. Ord. No. 12889, Dec. 27, 1993, 58 F.R. 69681, provided:

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Public Law 103–182, 107 Stat. 2057) (the NAFTA Implementation Act) [see Short Title note set out under section 3301 of this title] and section 302 of title 3, United States Code, and in order to implement the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Establishment of United States Section of the NAFTA Secretariat. Pursuant to section 105(a) of the NAFTA Implementation Act [19 U.S.C. 3315(a)], a United States section of the NAFTA Secretariat shall be established within the Department of Commerce and shall carry out the functions set out in that section.

Sec. 2. Acceptance by the President of Panel and Committee Decisions. Pursuant to subparagraph 516A(g)(7)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1516a(g)(7)(B), in the event that the provisions of that subparagraph take effect, I accept, as a whole, all decisions of binational panels and extraordinary challenge committees.

Sec. 3. Implementation of Safeguard Provisions for Textile and Apparel Goods. Pursuant to section 201 of the NAFTA Implementation Act [19 U.S.C. 3331], the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (the Committee) shall take such action as necessary to implement the bilateral safeguard provisions (tariff actions) set out in section 4 of Annex 300–B of the NAFTA. The United States Customs Service shall take such actions to carry out those safeguard provisions as directed by the Secretary of the Treasury, upon the advice and recommendation of the Chairman of the Committee.

Sec. 4. Publication of Proposed Rules regarding Technical Regulations and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. (a) In accordance with Articles 718 and 909 of the NAFTA, each agency subject to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 551et seq.), shall, in applying section 553 of title 5, United States Code, with respect to any proposed Federal technical regulation or any Federal sanitary or phytosanitary measure of general application, other than a regulation issued pursuant to section 104(a) of the NAFTA Implementation Act [19 U.S.C. 3314(a)], publish or serve notice of such regulation or measure not less than 75 days before the comment due date, except:

(1) in the case of a technical regulation relating to perishable goods, in which case the agency shall, to the greatest extent practicable, publish or serve notice at least 30 days prior to adoption of such regulation;

(2) in the case of a technical regulation, where the United States considers it necessary to address an urgent problem relating to safety or to protection of human, animal or plant life or health, the environment or consumers; or

(3) in the case of a sanitary or phytosanitary measure, where the United States considers it necessary to address an urgent problem relating to sanitary or phytosanitary protection.

(b) For purposes of this section, the term “sanitary or phytosanitary measure” shall be defined in accordance with section 463 of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 [19 U.S.C. 2575b], and “technical regulation” shall be defined in accordance with section 473 of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 [19 U.S.C. 2576b].

(c) This section supersedes section 1 of Executive Order No. 12662 of December 31, 1988 [19 U.S.C. 2112 note].

Sec. 5. Government Procurement Procedures. (a) Waiver.

(1) With respect to eligible products (as defined in section 381(c) of the NAFTA Implementation Act [amending section 2518(4)(A) of this title]) of Canada and Mexico, and suppliers of such products, the application of any law, regulation, procedure, or practice regarding Federal Government procurement that would, if applied to such products or suppliers, result in treatment less favorable than the most favorable treatment accorded:

(A) to United States products and services and suppliers of such products and services; or

(B) to eligible products of either Mexico or Canada, shall be waived.

(2) This waiver shall be applied by all executive agencies listed in Annexes 1 and 2 of this Executive order in consultation with, and when deemed necessary at the direction of, the United States Trade Representative (Trade Representative).

(b) The Secretary of Defense, or his designee, in consultation with the Trade Representative, shall be responsible for determinations under Article 1018(1), pursuant to Annex 1001.1b-1(A)(4), of the NAFTA. The Secretary of Defense, or his designee, and the Trade Representative shall establish procedures for this purpose.

(c) The executive agencies listed in Annex 2 are directed to procure eligible products in compliance with the procedural provisions of Chapter 10 of the NAFTA.

(d) The Trade Representative shall be responsible for calculating and adjusting the threshold as required by Article 1001(1)(c) of the NAFTA.

(e) This order shall apply only to solicitations issued on or after the date of entry into force of the NAFTA for the United States.

(f) Although regulatory implementation of this order must await revisions to the Federal Acquisitions Regulation (FAR), it is expected that agencies listed in Annexes 1 and 2 of this order will take all appropriate actions in the interim to implement those aspects of the order that are not dependent upon regulatory revision.

(g) Pursuant to section 25 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act, as amended ([former] 41 U.S.C. 421(a)) [now 41 U.S.C. 1302, 1303], the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council shall ensure that the policies established herein are incorporated in the FAR within 30 days from the date this order is issued.

Sec. 6. Government Use of Patented Technology. (a) Each agency shall, within 30 days from the date this order is issued, modify or adopt procedures to ensure compliance with Article 1709(10) of the NAFTA regarding notice when patented technology is used by or for the Federal Government without a license from the owner, except that the requirement of Article 1709(10)(b) regarding reasonable efforts to obtain advance authorization from the patent owner:

(1) is hereby waived for an invention used or manufactured by or for the Federal Government, except that the patent owner must be notified whenever the agency or its contractor, without making a patent search, knows or has demonstrable reasonable grounds to know that an invention described in and covered by a valid United States patent is or will be used or manufactured without a license; and

(2) is waived whenever a national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency exists, except that the patent owner must be notified as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so.

(b) Agencies shall treat the term “remuneration” as used in Articles 1709(10)(h) and (j) and 1715 of the NAFTA as equivalent to “reasonable and entire compensation” as used in section 1498 of title 28, United States Code.

(c) In addition to the general provisions of section 7 of this order regarding enforceable rights, nothing in this order is intended to suggest that the giving of notice to a patent owner under Article 1709(10) of the NAFTA constitutes an admission that the Federal Government has infringed a valid privately-owned patent.

Sec. 7. Judicial Review. This order does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any person.

Sec. 8. Effective Date. This order shall take effect upon the date of entry into force of the NAFTA for the United States.

William J. Clinton.

Miscellaneous

Annex 1

Department of Agriculture

Department of Commerce

Department of Defense

Department of Education

Department of Energy

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Department of the Interior

Department of Justice

Department of Labor

Department of State

Department of Transportation

Department of the Treasury

United States Agency for International Development

General Services Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Department of Veterans Affairs

Environmental Protection Agency

United States Information Agency

National Science Foundation

Panama Canal Commission

Executive Office of the President

Farm Credit Administration

National Credit Union Administration

Merit Systems Protection Board

ACTION Agency

United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency

Office of Thrift Supervision

Federal Housing Finance Board

National Labor Relations Board

National Mediation Board

Railroad Retirement Board

American Battle Monuments Commission

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Trade Commission

Interstate Commerce Commission

Securities and Exchange Commission

Office of Personnel Management

United States International Trade Commission

Export-Import Bank of the United States

Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

Selective Service System

Smithsonian Institution

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Federal Maritime Commission

National Transportation Safety Board

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Overseas Private Investment Corporation

Administrative Conference of the United States

Board for International Broadcasting

Commission on Civil Rights

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Peace Corps

National Archives and Records Administration

Annex 2

The Power Marketing Administrations of the Department of Energy

Tennessee Valley Authority

St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation

[For abolition of United States Information Agency (other than Broadcasting Board of Governors and International Broadcasting Bureau), transfer of functions, and treatment of references thereto, see sections 6531, 6532, and 6551 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse.]

[For abolition, transfer of functions, and treatment of references to United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, see section 6511 et seq. of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse.]