Republic of Congo          Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe      Democratic Republic of the Congo      Republic of Senegal      Republic of Côte d’Ivoire      Republic of Djibouti         Republic of Sierra Leone      Eswatini            Republic of South Africa      The Gambia      Republic of Ghana          United Republic of Tanzania                   Republic of Togo      Republic of Guinea-Bissau (Guinea-Bissau)      Republic of Kenya      Kingdom of Lesotho         Republic of Zambia      Republic of Liberia      Republic of Madagascar (Madagascar)

 (b) Articles provided for in a provision for which a rate of duty appears in the “Special” subcolumn followed by the symbol “D” in chapters    1 through 97 of the tariff schedule are those designated by the President to be eligible articles pursuant to section 111(a) of the    AGOA and section 506A of the Trade Act of 1974 (“the 1974 Act”). Whenever an eligible article which is a good of a designated beneficiary sub-Saharan African country enumerated in subdivision (a) of this note is imported directly into the customs territory of the United States, such article shall be entitled to receive the duty-free treatment provided for herein, without regard to the limitations on preferential treatment of eligible articles in section 503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act, provided that such good--

   (i) is the growth, product or manufacture of a designated beneficiary sub-Saharan African country enumerated in subdivision (a) of this note, and

   (ii) the sum of--

     (A) the cost or value of the materials produced in one or more designated beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries, plus

     (B) the direct costs of processing operations performed in the designated beneficiary sub-Saharan African country or any two or more designated beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries that are members of the same association of countries which is treated as one country under section 507(a)2 of the 1974 Act,

 is not less than 35 per centum of the appraised value of such article at the time it is entered. If the cost or value of the materials produced in the customs territory of the United States is included with respect to an eligible article, an amount not to exceed      15 per centum of the appraised value of such article at the time it is entered that is attributed to such United States cost or value may be applied toward determining the percentage referred to in clause (ii)(B) above. No article or material of a designated beneficiary sub-Saharan African country enumerated in subdivision (a) of this note and receiving the tariff treatment specified in this note shall be eligible for such duty-free treatment by virtue of having merely undergone simple combining or packing operations, or mere dilution with water or mere dilution with another substance that does not materially alter the characteristics of the article.

   (iii) For purposes of subdivision (ii)(A) above, a “former beneficiary sub-Saharan African country” is a country that, after being designated as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country under the AGOA and enumerated in subdivision (a) of this note, ceased to be designated as such a country by reason of its entering into a free trade agreement with the United States.

 (c) The duty-free treatment provided for in this note shall be effective with respect to eligible articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, as of the date proclaimed by the President and shall continue in effect through the close of September    30, 2025.

17. Products of Countries Designated as Beneficiary Countries under the United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act of 2000.

 (a) The Caribbean Basin countries that will be enumerated in this note in a Federal Register notice by the United States Trade    Representative, having previously been designated by the President pursuant to section 211 of the United States-Caribbean Basin    Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), shall be treated as beneficiary countries for purposes of this note on and after the effective date announced in such notice. The following countries have been determined by the USTR to have satisfied the customs requirements of the CBTPA and, therefore, to be afforded the tariff treatment provided for in this note:

   Barbados, Belize, Curaçao, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago. 

 (b) Except as provided in subdivision (d) of this note, articles provided for in a provision for which a rate of duty appears in the “Special” subcolumn followed by the symbol “R” in chapters 1 through 97 of the tariff schedule are those designated by the President to be eligible articles for purposes of the CBTPA pursuant to section 211 of that Act. Whenever an eligible article which is a good of one or more designated beneficiary CBTPA countries enumerated in subdivision (a) of this note is imported directly into the customs territory of the United States, such article shall be entitled to receive the duty-free or reduced duty treatment provided for herein, provided that such good--

   (i) was wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of one or more designated beneficiary countries enumerated in subdivision (a) of this note, or

   (ii) would be an originating good for purposes of general note 11 to the tariff schedule, if such good were imported thereunder.

   No article or material of a designated beneficiary country enumerated in subdivision (a) of this note and receiving the tariff treatment specified in this note shall be eligible for such duty-free treatment by virtue of having merely undergone simple combining or packing operations, or mere dilution with water or mere dilution with another substance that does not materially alter the characteristics of the article.

 (c) Whenever a rate of duty other than “Free” appears in the “Special” rates of duty subcolumn for any heading or subheading followed by the symbol “E” or “E*” and a lower rate of duty appears in such subcolumn followed by the symbol “R”, an eligible article under the terms of this note entered under such provision from a designated beneficiary CBTPA country enumerated in subdivision (a) of this note shall receive such lower rate of duty.

 (d) Subdivision (b)(ii) of this note shall not apply to footwear provided for in any of subheadings 6403.59.60, 6403.91.30, 6403.99.60 and 6403.99.90 of the tariff schedule, and footwear provided for in any such subheading shall be eligible for the rate of duty set forth in the “Special” rates of duty subcolumn followed by the symbol “R” in parentheses if--

   (i) the article of footwear is the growth, product or manufacture of a designated beneficiary country enumerated in subdivision     (a) of this note; and

   (ii) the article meets all requirements of general note 7 to the tariff schedule other than being the growth, product or manufacture of a beneficiary country set forth in subdivision (a) of such general note 7.

 (e) (i) Articles that undergo production in a CBTPA beneficiary country and a former CBTPA beneficiary country.

    (A) For purposes of determining eligibility of an article for preferential treatment under this note, references to--

      (1) a “CBTPA beneficiary country” shall be considered to include any former CBTPA beneficiary country, and

      (2) “CBTPA beneficiary countries” shall be considered to include former CBTPA beneficiary countries,

 if the article, or good used in the production of the article, undergoes production in a CBTPA beneficiary country.

    (B) An article that is eligible for preferential treatment under subdivision (e)(i) of this note shall not be ineligible for such treatment because the article is imported directly from a former CBTPA beneficiary country.

    (C) Notwithstanding subdivisions (e)(i)(A) and (e)(i)(B), an article that is a good of a former CBTPA beneficiary country for purposes of section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304) or section 334 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act      (19 U.S.C. 3592), as the case may be, shall not be eligible for preferential treatment under this note.

    (D) Notwithstanding subdivision (e)(i)(C) of this note, an article shall be eligible for preferential treatment under this note if--

      (1) the article is a good of Dominican Republic for purposes of section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304) or section 334 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3592), as the case may be, and

      (2) the article, or a good used in the production of the article, undergoes production in Haiti.

   (ii) (A) The term “former CBTPA beneficiary country” means a country that ceases to be designated as a CBTPA beneficiary country under this note because the country has become a party to a free trade agreement with the United States.