Statement on Signing the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004

Today, I have signed into law H.R. 1047, the "Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004." The Act modifies temporarily certain rates of duty under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States and makes other amendments to U.S. trade laws.

The executive branch shall construe section 1560(b) of the Act, relating to interaction between the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security and the Government of Canada, in a manner consistent with the President's constitutional authority to conduct the Nation's foreign affairs and to supervise the unitary executive branch.

As is consistent with the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, the executive branch shall construe section 401(I) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by subsection 1561(a) of the Act, not to authorize the exercise of significant U.S. Governmental authority by foreign law enforcement officers.

Section 629(e) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as enacted by section 1561(b) of the Act, provides that any foreign customs or agriculture inspection official stationed in the United States under section 629(e) may exercise such functions, perform such duties, and enjoy such privileges and immunities as U.S. officials may be authorized to perform or are afforded in that foreign country by treaty, agreement, or law. The executive branch shall construe section 629(e) to authorize the executive branch to allow the specified foreign government officials to perform functions of such foreign government inside the United States on the same basis as the specified U.S. Government officials may perform their U.S. Government functions in that foreign country and, as is consistent with the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, shall not construe the provision to authorize the exercise of significant U.S. Governmental authority by foreign officials.

The executive branch shall construe the repeal, in section 1561(c) of the Act, of section 127 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2003, as contained in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2003 (Public Law 108-7), as repealing the amendments that were made to title 19 of the United States Code by section 127. Such a construction of section 1561(c) is consistent with the text and structure of amendments to title 19 made by section 1561.

GEORGE W. BUSH

The White House, December 3, 2004.