To amend the United States-Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act of 1985 to provide the President with additional proclamation authority with respect to articles of the West Bank or Gaza Strip or a qualifying industrial zone.
Public Law 104-234 · H.R. 3074 · 104th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Bill Clinton (D) on Oct 2, 1996 · Foreign Trade and International Finance
Sponsor: Rep. Phil Crane (R-IL-8)
Cosponsors (2): Rep. Clay Shaw, Rep. Charlie Rangel
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Amends the United States-Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act of 1985 to authorize the President to proclaim the elimination or modification of any existing duty in order to exempt any article from duty if: (1) the article is wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, or a qualifying industrial zone (defined under this Act); (2) the article is imported directly from such area or zone; and (3) the sum of the materials and processing costs of such article is not less than 35 percent of the appraised value of such product at the time it enters into the United States.
Makes an article eligible for such exemption only if: (1) its importer certifies that the article meets the exemption conditions; and (2) when requested by the Customs Service, the importer, manufacturer, or exporter submits a declaration setting forth all pertinent information with respect to such article and the requirements of this Act.
Authorizes the President to: (1) treat such articles as items of Israel for purposes of the free trade agreement entered into between the United States and Israel in 1985, as long as such articles otherwise meet agreement requirements; and (2) include the value of materials and processing costs of such articles as values and costs under such agreement.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 16 actions.
- Oct 2, 1996Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 104-234.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Sep 30, 1996PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Sep 27, 1996FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- FloorFloor · The title amendment was tabled by Unanimous Consent.
- FloorFloor · The committee substitute rejected by Unanimous Consent.
- May 13, 1996CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Finance Committee
- May 8, 1996CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Senate Finance Committee
- Apr 17, 1996CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Finance Committee
- Apr 16, 1996FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Shaw moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- Mar 25, 1996CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Ways and Means Committee
- Mar 14, 1996CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Ways and Means Committee
- Mar 13, 1996CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Ways and Means Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.