March 1997 Report to the NAFTA Commission
from the Committee on Trade in Goods
1. Work accomplished / Work in Progress
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First Round of NAFTA Tariff Acceleration concluded: The Committee on Trade in Goods concluded work on a list of products which would have duties eliminated on an accelerated basis. This list was presented and approved by the NAFTA Commission on March 20, 1997 and released at that time. The Commission instructed the Committee on Trade in Goods to begin the domestic procedures necessary to implement the reductions by July 1, 1997.
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The Second Round of NAFTA Tariff Accelerations announced: The Committee also proposed, and the Ministers approved, the initiation of a second tariff acceleration exercise. A notice soliciting requests will be published by each Government by May 1, 1997, and a list of agreed products announced by December 1, 1997, with implementation to follow.
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Other issues addressed by the Committee since implementation of the NAFTA included resolving the issue of increased Mexican duties on the importation of frozen Canadian geese and frozen US ducks, and clarifying the application of a merchandise processing fee by the U.S. on importations of certain Canadian textile products.
2. Future Work
Work to implement the first round of acceleration results is well underway, as well as work to solicit request for a second round. The Committee on Trade in Goods expects to meet regularly through 1997 to complete this work and address additional issues as they arise.
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