revised agreement followed the same pattern as the schedule of increases in United States import duties--that is, the quantity of each of the categories of Philippine articles that is entitled to duty-free entry was reduced, not at the uniform rate of 5 percent of the base quantity each year as provided in the 1946 agreement, but by the same progression as United States import duties were to be increased. The base quantities of the articles on which the annual quotas were to be calculated were

the same in the revised agreement as in the 1946 agreement. 1/

UNITED STATES ACTIONS RELATING TO CUSTOMS PROCEDURES

Among other objectives, the Contracting Parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade have sought to simplify customs regulations and procedures, establish uniform treatment with respect to marks of origin, establish uniform standards of valuation for customs purposes, and protect contracting parties from "dumping" or injurious subsidization. Article VIII of the agreement, for example, establishes standards intended to prevent the use of customs fees and formalities as disguised barriers to imports. Article IX is designed to prevent marking requirements from being used to restrict imports. Article VII states that value for customs purposes should be based on actual value, and establishes standards for determining actual value. Article VI condemns dumping if it threatens or causes material injury to an established industry, or retards the establishment of an industry, in the territory of another contracting party. It also

1/ For a detailed discussion of the provisions of the Philippine Trade Agreement Revision Act of 1955, including the schedule of declining duty-free quotas, see Operation of the Trade Agreements Program (ninth report), ch. 4.

provides that an injured country may use antidumping or countervailing 1/ duties, but provides against their excessive or unwarranted use.

For a number of years the Contracting Parties--with the cooperation of the International Chamber of Commerce--have studied the problems associated with customs regulations and procedures, valuation for customs purposes, marks of origin, and dumping. They have also urged contracting parties to bring their legislation on these subjects into conformity with the provisions of the General Agreement, even though such conformity is not presently required. At their Seventh Session in 1952, for example, the Contracting Parties recommended that by December 31, 1956, contracting parties abolish the requirement for consular invoices and visas. They also adopted a Code of Standard Practices designed to limit the number and kind of documents used in 2/ connection with the importation of goods. At their Eighth Session

in 1953, the Contracting Parties inaugurated a study of the various

methods of valuation that contracting parties employ for customs

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purposes. At their 9th and 10th Sessions, in 1954 and 1955, they continued their discussions on the valuation of goods for customs

1/ Under the Protocol of Provisional Application of the General Agreement, contracting parties were required only to apply these articles to the fullest extent not inconsistent with legislation existing on October 30, 1947. At their Ninth Session in 1954-55, the Contracting Parties prepared a resolution which provided that a definitive acceptance of the agreement would be valid even if accompanied by a reservation that legislation presently acceptable under the provisional application of the agreement would remain acceptable under the definitive application of the agreement. The resolution entered into force at the 11th Session of the Contracting Parties in 1956, after it had been accepted by all the contracting parties.

2/ See Operation of the Trade Agreements Program (eighth report), pp. 79-81.

purposes, the nationality of imported goods, and practices relating to consular formalities. They also considered the problems associated with certificates of origin and marks of origin, and agreed to study them in detail at their 11th Session.

In line with the discussions and recommendations of the Contracting Parties, a number of countries--including the United States--have adopted measures designed to simplify their customs regulations and procedures. United States action to simplify customs procedures resulted in the passage of the Customs Simplification Act of 1953, the Customs Simplification Act of 1954, and the Customs Simplification Act of 1956. / The acts of 1953 and 1956 dealt almost entirely with the

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simplification of United States customs regulations and procedures;

the act of 1954 dealt primarily with tariff simplification and with dumping.

1/

On February 2, 1953, in his message to the Congress on the state of the Union, the President recommended that the United States revise its customs regulations to remove procedural obstacles to profitable trade. The Customs Simplification Act of 1953, which the President approved on August 8, 1953, embodied many of the administration's proposals. The provisions of the new law were designed to reduce time and expense in customs administration and to eliminate or simplify some of the formalities required in the importation of goods. Among other things the act (1) repealed special marking requirements for a wide range of articles and made them eligible for marking after importation and for normal exemptions from marking; (2) relaxed entry requirements by making it possible for merchandise valued not in

1/67 Stat. 507. 2/68 Stat. 1136.

70 Stat. 943.

excess of $250 (instead of $100) to be entered informally; (3) relaxed invoice requirements by requiring certified (consular) invoices only for merchandise which is valued at more than $500 (instead of $100) and which is subject to a rate of duty dependent on value; (4) provided for the liquidation of entries on the basis of appraised value without regard to the entered value, even though the entered value might be higher; (5) permitted the adoption of more modern auditing and accounting procedures to expedite the liquidation of entries; (6) eliminated the requirement for touring permits for automobiles brought into the United States by nonresidents for noncommercial purposes; (7) exempted from the payment of duties and taxes, bona fide gifts not exceeding $10 in value from persons in foreign countries to persons in the United States; (8) extended free-entry provisions to material for the repair of foreign vessels and to ground equipment for foreign aircraft engaged in commerce with the United States; (9) under certain conditions greatly extended the authority of customs collectors to correct clerical errors, mistakes of fact, and inadvertencies in any entry, liquidation, appraisement, or other customs transaction; (10) permitted the temporary entry of many additional articles under bond, without the payment of duty; (11) virtually eliminated requirements for notarized oaths on customs documents; and (12) permitted under specified conditions certain foreign merchandise to be exported under lease to a foreign manufacturer and reimported into the United States without the payment of duty.

On August 2, 1956, the President approved the Customs Simplification Act of 1956. The principal change for which the act provides deals with the method of determining the value of imported articles that are subject to ad valorem duties. Previously, in such instances, customs appraisers were required to determine both the "export value" and the "foreign value" of imported articles; the ad valorem duty was then levied on the basis of the higher of the two values. Under the act of 1956 the primary basis for determining the value of articles for duty purposes is to be the "export value." However, the new valuation procedures are not to apply to all merchandise subject to ad valorem duties. The law directs the Treasury Department to determine those imported articles on which the use of "export value" alone would reduce their dutiable value by 5 percent or more (based on actual imports in 1954). For such articles the customs appraisers are to continue to ascertain both "export value" and "foreign value," and the higher is to be regarded as the dutiable value. The number of such articles is expected to be a small part of all imported articles subject to ad valorem duties. The new valuation provisions will not become effective until 30 days after the Treasury Department has established a final list of excepted articles.

Another change provided for in the Customs Simplification Act of 1956 relates to the conversion of values stated in foreign currencies. In general the act authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to use, for the entire quarter of a year, the rate of exchange that is first