Clinton Says U.S. to Redouble Efforts to Get Pakistan ROZ Law Passed
The State Department has issued a joint statement at the conclusion of the recent session of the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue on October 20-22, 2010, at which Secretary of State Clinton commented on interest in Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) for Pakistan, among other things.
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(ROZs would be regions from which duty-free import is offered for certain products made in those regions in order to provide incentives for investment.)
Commitment to Redouble Efforts to Create Pakistan ROZs and Enterprise Fund
According to the joint statement by the U.S. and Pakistan, the U.S. committed to redouble its efforts to seek Congressional enactment of legislation to create Reconstruction Opportunity Zones, and to establish an Enterprise Fund.
(After the November 2 elections, Congress is expected to return for a lame duck session. After the 111th Congress ends, any pending legislation from that Congress would have to be reintroduced in the next session of Congress.)
ROZ Legislation Pending in the Current Congress
ROZ legislation pending in the 111th Congress includes H.R. 1318 and S. 496. H.R. 1318 was introduced in March 2009, and would authorize the President to proclaim duty-free treatment for eligible articles from ROZs if they meet certain general and specific rules of origin; and for an eligible textile or apparel article if (a) the article is a "covered" article1; and (b) the President determines that the country in which the ROZ is located has satisfied the requirements for protecting against unlawful transshipment, etc. The duty-free treatment provided for in H.R. 1318 would remain in effect through September 30, 2024.
H.R. 1318 also includes provisions on technical assistance, capacity building, compliance assessment, a remediation program, limitation on providing duty-free treatment, etc.
S.496, the companion Senate bill was introduced in February 2009. Some of the differences in S. 496 is that the ROZ program would end September 30, 2023, it contains fewer Customs procedures and enforcement provisions, and it does not contain a section on technical assistance, capacity building, etc. (See ITT's Online Archives or 04/02/09 news, 09040210, for BP summary of H.R. 1318 and S.496.)
(In August 2010, the Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to Secretary of State Clinton and U.S. Trade Representative Kirk expressing support for legislation to create ROZs in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In light of the recent floods in Pakistan, the Chamber urged Congressional approval of such legislation on an urgent basis. The Chamber also urged the expansion of the legislation’s reach to include additional products and areas. See ITT's Online Archives or 09/03/10 news, 10090311, for BP summary.)
Next Round of U.S.-Pakistan Dialogue Planned for 2011
The next round of the Strategic Dialogue is planned to be held in 2011; however, the sectoral working groups plan to meet prior to the next Ministerial-level meeting.
1"Covered" articles are certain products that fall within the scope of certain specified textile and apparel category numbers or Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers.
(Joint statement dated 10/22/10)