Article IV

Article IV Trade Section 241 The Republic of the Marshall Islands is not included in the customs territory of the United States.Section 242 The President shall proclaim the following tariff treatment for articles imported from the Republic of the Marshall Islands which shall apply during the period of effectiveness of this title:(a) Unless otherwise excluded, articles imported from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, subject to the limitations imposed under section 503(b) of title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2463(b)), shall be exempt from duty.(b) Only tuna in airtight containers provided for in heading 1604.14.22 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States that is imported from the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia during any calendar year not to exceed 10 percent of apparent United States consumption of tuna in airtight containers during the immediately preceding calendar year, as reported by the National Marine Fisheries Service, shall be exempt from duty; but the quantity of tuna given duty-free treatment under this paragraph for any calendar year shall be counted against the aggregated quantity of tuna in airtight containers that is dutiable under rate column numbered 1 of such heading 1604.14.22 for that calendar year.(c) The duty-free treatment provided under subsection (a) shall not apply to:(1) watches, clocks, and timing apparatus provided for in Chapter 91, excluding heading 9113, of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States;(2) buttons (whether finished or not finished) provided for in items 9606.21.40 and 9606.29.20 of such Schedule;(3) textile and apparel articles which are subject to textile agreements; and(4) footwear, handbags, luggage, flat goods, work gloves, and leather wearing apparel which were not eligible 117 STAT. 2819 articles for purposes of title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461, et seq.) on April 1, 1984.(d) If the cost or value of materials produced in the customs territory of the United States is included with respect to an eligible article which is a product of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 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 for duty assessment purposes toward determining the percentage referred to in section 503(a)(2) of title V of the Trade Act of 1974.Section 243 Articles imported from the Republic of the Marshall Islands which are not exempt from duty under subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) of section 242 shall be subject to the rates of duty set forth in column numbered 1-general of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).Section 244 (a) All products of the United States imported into the Republic of the Marshall Islands shall receive treatment no less favorable than that accorded like products of any foreign country with respect to customs duties or charges of a similar nature and with respect to laws and regulations relating to importation, exportation, taxation, sale, distribution, storage or use. (b) The provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply to advantages accorded by the Republic of the Marshall Islands by virtue of their full membership in the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA), done on August 18, 2001, to those governments listed in Article 26 of PICTA, as of the date the Compact, as amended, is signed. (c) Prior to entering into consultations on, or concluding, a free trade agreement with governments not listed in Article 26 of PICTA, the Republic of the Marshall Islands shall consult with the United States regarding whether or how subsection (a) of section 244 shall be applied.