Section 232 (b) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862 (b)), provides that if the Secretary of the Treasury finds that an "article is being imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security," the President is authorized to "take such action, and for such time, as he deems necessary to adjust the imports [of the article] and its derivatives so that . . . imports [of the article] will not threaten to impair the national security."

When President Ford raised license fees on imported oil after a finding by the Secretary of the Treasury that crude oil and its derivatives were being imported in such quantities as to threaten to impair the national security, a suit was brought by eight States and their Governors, 10 utility companies, and a Congressman, challenging the license fees as beyond the President's authority under § 232 (b). The District Court denied relief, the Court of Appeals reversed, but the Supreme Court found that § 232 (b) was a valid delegation to the President of power to impose license fees on imports.

The opinion, delivered by Mr. Justice Thurgood Marshall, held that § 232 (b) was not an improper delegation of power, since it established clear preconditions to Presidential action, including the finding by the Secretary of the Treasury regarding impairment of national security. It pointed out that, even if the preconditions are met, the President can act only to the extent he deems necessary to adjust the imports so that they will not threaten to impair the national security, and § 232 (c) sets forth specific factors to consider in exercising his authority. It stated further:

In authorizing the President to "take such action, and for such time, as he deems necessary to adjust the imports of [an] article and its derivatives," the language of § 232 (b) seems clearly to grant him a measure of discretion in determining the method to be used to adjust imports. We find no support in the language of the statute for respondents' contention that the authorization to the President to "adjust" imports should be read to encompass only quantitative methods-i.e., quotas as opposed to monetary methods-i.e., license fees-of effecting such adjustments.

The legislative history of § 232 (b) indicated, in the Court's opinion, that the President's authority extended to the imposition of monetary exactions, i.e., license fees and duties, and belied any suggestion that Congress, despite its use of broad language, intended to confine the President's authority to the imposition of quotas and to bar him from imposing a license fee system such as the one in question.

The Court's opinion warned that the holding was a limited one, and in no way compelled the further conclusion that any action the President might take, as long as it had even a remote impact on imports, was also authorized.

Steel

On January 16, 1976, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USICT) found injury to U.S. industry with respect to stainless and alloy tool steel, also referred to as specialty steel, and recommended quotas limiting stainless and alloy tool steel imports. On March 16, 1976, President Ford issued a determination under section 202 (b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-618; 88 Stat. 1978; 19 U.S.C. 2252 (b) (1)), in which he announced his intention to seek the negotiation of orderly marketing agreements with the major suppliers of specialty steel to the United States. In so doing, he rejected the recommendation of the Commissioners that absolute quotas be imposed on U.S. steel for a five-year period. The President stated that he would seek agreements covering a three-year period, but should negotiations fail, he would impose quotas comparable to the overall levels recommended by the Commission. The United States thereafter sent formal invitations to the Council of Europe countries, Sweden, and Japan to enter into discussions with the United States aimed at working out orderly marketing arrangements.

President Ford's memorandum of Mar. 16, 1976, to the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations, reads in part as follows:

I have determined that import relief is to be provided to permit the industry to recover from its recent depressed operating levels and high unemployment rates. I have decided to seek orderly marketing agreements in order to work with the principal nations involved, resolving the immediate problems of our domestic industry in a manner which meets the special concerns of each of the nations affected, while injury to the domestic industry is remedied.

I am directing you to negotiate orderly marketing agreements with supplying countries. It is intended that these agreements limit imports, of those stainless and alloy tool steel items covered by such agreements, to recent levels while the domestic industry recovers from the high unemployment and depressed operating levels of 1975. If satisfactory orderly marketing agreements are not negotiated successfully, I will proclaim import quotas for a period of three years to take effect on or before June 14, 1976. The quotas would be set at overall levels (but not necessarily the product category or country levels) comparable to those recommended by the USITC.

This relief will be reduced or discontinued at such time as I determine, with the advice of the USITC and Secretaries of Labor and Commerce, that the industry is regaining healthy production and employment levels.

To assist the large number of workers who have been laid off, I have directed the Secretary of Labor to expedite processing of applications for trade adjustment assistance. The income benefits of such assistance for these unemployed workers should reduce the hardships suffered, particularly in cases where unemployment benefits have expired.

In addition to the above actions to be taken under Section 203 of the Trade Act of 1974, I am directing you, in the Multilateral Trade Negotiations, to negotiate solutions on a sectoral basis to the problems of cyclical distortions in steel trade, while liberalizing the conditions of this trade.

Fed. Reg., Vol. 41, No. 54, Mar. 18, 1976, p. 11269. For a statement issued by the Office of Special Representative for Trade Negotiations on Mar. 16, 1976, see Dept. of State Bulletin, Vol. LXXIV, No. 1922, Apr. 26, 1976, p. 555.

On June 11, 1976, President Ford issued Proclamation 4445, on temporary quantitative limitation on the importation into the United States of certain articles of stainless steel or alloy tool steel. He announced the conclusion on that date of an orderly marketing agreement between the United States and Japan limiting the export from Japan and the import into the United States of certain articles of such specialty steel (TIAS 8442; 27 UST).

The President stated that agreements not having been reached with other countries, he was providing import relief, pursuant to the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2253 (a) (3) and (5), (e) (1) and (g) (2)), through the imposition of quantitative restriction on the import into the United States of certain articles of specialty steel. He determined further that the level of import relief being proclaimed permitted the importation into the United States of a quantity or value of articles not less than the average annual quantity or value of such articles imported in the 1971-1975 period. The proclamation was declared effective as to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after June 14, 1976, and before the close of June 13, 1979, unless earlier modified or terminated.

Fed. Reg., Vol. 41, No. 116, June 15, 1976, pp. 24101-24105.

Dairy Products

On March 26, 1976, President Ford issued Proclamation 4423, imposing import quota limitations on certain dairy products, including dried milk, pursuant to the provisions of section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 624). The President declared that there was reason to believe that dry milk mixtures, containing not more than 5.5 percent butterfat by weight, mixed with other ingredients, were being imported, or were practically certain to be imported, into the United States under such conditions and in such quantities as to render or tend to render ineffective, or materially interfere with, the price support program conducted by the Department of Agriculture for milk, or to substantially reduce the amount of products processed in the United States from domestic milk. Effective March 31, 1976, he proclaimed Part 3 of the Appendix to the Tariff Schedules of the United States, item 950.19 amended to establish a quota of zero pounds for such mixtures. The zero quota was to continue in effect pending further action upon receipt of a report and recommendation of the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Fed. Reg., Vol. 41, No. 61, Mar. 29, 1976, p. 12875. For the President's letter to the Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission, Mar. 26, 1976, see Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Vol. 12, No. 14, p. 508.

Meat

President Ford, on October 9, 1976, issued Proclamation 4469, imposing import quotas on fresh, chilled, and frozen meat as required by the Meat Import Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 594; 19 U.S.C. 1202 note) when the Secretary of Agriculture estimates annual imports will exceed the quota trigger level. The President exercised his discretion under the Act to set the quotas above the adjusted base level to permit aggregate imports during 1976 of 1,233 million pounds, the amount envisioned in the voluntary restraint program based on bilateral agreements with 11 foreign governments. The quotas became effective immediately.

The operational paragraphs of Proclamation 4469 read as follows:

1. In conformity with and as required by Section 2(c) of the Act, the total quantity of the articles specified in item 106.10 (relating to fresh, chilled, or frozen cattle meat) and item 106.20 (relating to fresh, chilled, or frozen meat of goats and sheep (except lambs)) of Part 2B, schedule 1 of the tariff schedules of the United States which may be entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption during the calendar year 1976 is limited to 1,120.9 million pounds.

2. Pursuant to Section (2)d of the Act, it is hereby determined that an increase in the quota quantity proclaimed in Paragraph 1. is required by overriding economic interests of the United States, giving special weight to the importance to the nation of the economic well-being of the domestic livestock industry, and that an increase of 112.1 million pounds in such quota quantity is necessary to carry out the purposes of such subsection.

3. Pursuant to Section 2(d) of the Act, the quota quantity proclaimed in Paragraph 1. is increased by 112.1 million pounds and the total quantity of the articles specified in item 106.10 (relating to fresh, chilled, or frozen cattle meat) and item 106.20 (relating to fresh, chilled, or frozen meat of goats and sheep (except lambs)) of Part 2B, schedule 1 of the tariff schedules of the United States which may be entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption during the calendar year 1976 is limited to 1,233 million pounds.

Fed. Reg., Vol. 41, No. 200, Oct. 14, 1976, p. 44995. Effective Oct. 28, 1976, regulations issued by the Acting Secretary of Agriculture denied entry into the customs territory of the United States during the remainder of the year 1976 of meat processed in foreign-trade zones and territories of the United States (7 CFR 16.20-16.22). Fed. Reg., Vol. 41, No. 209, Oct. 28, 1976, p. 47254.

The Department of State announced on December 15, 1976, that the United States had reached substantive agreement with the governments of major meat exporting countries on arrangements to govern trade in meat, mainly beef, during 1977. The other negotiating countries included Australia, New Zealand, and countries of Central America and the Caribbean. The arrangements in some cases were on an ad referendum basis, subject to final approval by their governments. The Department also announced that Canada, which had not been a participant in previous restraint programs, would be covered by the 1977 arrangement, but that the precise terms of Canada's participation to cover the two-way U.S.-Canadian trade in meat were still under discussion.

The overall system of arrangements with supplying countries provides assurance that aggregate imports into the United States

would not exceed 1,281.9 million pounds in 1977, the level at which quotas are triggered under the Meat Import Act. This level of imports is an increase of 4 percent over imports in 1976.

Dept. of State Press Release No. 605, Dec. 15, 1976.

Sealskins

On September 9, 1976, the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) received from the Fouke Company, Greenville, S.C., a petition for adjustment of regulations governing the number of Cape fur sealskins which may be imported from the 1975 harvest from 19,180 to 23,170 sealskins. The Fouke Company alleged that the NMFS erroneously failed to consider four islands as part of South Africa, namely: Long Island, Albatross Rock, Sinclair Island, and Hollam's Bird Island, and thereby understated that portion of the total yearly harvests which occurred in South Africa. The NMFS requested the Department of State's views on the territorial status of the four islands. The Department of State, in a memorandum of law, concluded that Long Island, Albatross Rock, Sinclair Island, and Hollam's Bird Island are part of the territory of the Republic of South Africa. Accordingly, the Director of the NMFS amended title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations § 216.32 (a), (a) (1), (b) and (f) (5) to adjust the percentage of the total harvest to be imported into the United States from 27.4 percent to 33.1 percent. When applied to the maximum harvest level of 70,000 seals as permitted in the waiver, this resulted in an increase in the maximum number of sealskins which may be imported from South Africa to 23,170 sealskins annually, beginning with the 1976 harvest and from subsequent harvests subject to annual review by the Director.

Fed. Reg., Vol. 41, No. 228, Nov. 24, 1976, pp. 51795-51796.

Sugar

In August 1976, after sugar prices had declined sharply, the Interagency Task Force on Sugar Policy was reconstituted in the United States to update the supply, demand, and price outlook for the remainder of 1976. After reviewing the work of the task force, President Ford announced on September 21, 1976, that he had decided to give full support to the request of the Senate Finance Committee for an escape clause investigation by the U.S. International Trade Commission under section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 1978; 19 U.S.C. 2251).

In addition, the President announced that in view of the depressed state of the sugar industry, he had decided to raise the duty on imported sugar from .625 cents per pound to 1.875 cents per pound