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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 212. Inter-American Highway
(a) Funds appropriated for the Inter-American Highway shall be
used to enable the United States to cooperate with the Governments
of the American Republics situated in Central America - that is,
with the Governments of the Republic of Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama - in the survey and
construction of the Inter-American Highway within the borders of
the aforesaid Republics, respectively. Not to exceed one-third of
the appropriation authorized for each fiscal year may be expended
without requiring the country or countries in which such funds may
be expended to match any part thereof, if the Secretary of State
shall find that the cost of constructing said highway in such
country or countries will be beyond their reasonable capacity to
bear. The remainder of such authorized appropriations shall be
available for expenditure only when matched to the extent required
by this section by the country in which such expenditure may be
made. Expenditures from the funds available on a matching basis
shall not be made for the survey and construction of any portion of
said highway within the borders of any country named herein unless
such country shall provide and make available for expenditure in
conjunction therewith a sum equal to at least one-third of the
expenditures that may be incurred by that Government and the United
States on such portion of the highway. All expenditures by the
United States under the provisions of this section for material,
equipment, and supplies shall, whenever practicable, be made for
products of the United States or of the country in which such
survey or construction work is being carried on. Construction work
to be performed under contract shall be advertised for a reasonable
period by the Minister of Public Works, or other similar official,
of the government concerned in each of the participating countries
and contracts shall be awarded pursuant to such advertisements with
the approval of the Secretary. No part of the appropriations
authorized shall be available for obligation or expenditure for
work on said highway in any cooperating country unless the
government of said country shall have assented to the provisions of
this section; shall have furnished satisfactory assurances that it
has an organization adequately qualified to administer the
functions required of such country under the provisions hereof; and
then only as such country may submit requests, from time to time,
for the construction of any portion of the highway to standards
adequate to meet present and future traffic needs. No part of said
appropriations shall be available for obligation or expenditure in
any such country until the government of that country shall have
entered into an agreement with the United States which shall
provide, in part, that said country -
(1) will provide, without participation of funds authorized,
all necessary rights-of-way for the construction of said highway,
which rights-of-way shall be of a minimum width where practicable
of one hundred meters in rural areas and fifty meters in
municipalities and shall forever be held inviolate as a part of
the highway for public use;
(2) will not impose any highway toll, or permit any such toll
to be charged, for use by vehicles or persons of any portion of
said highway constructed under the provisions of this section;
(3) will not levy or assess, directly or indirectly, any fee,
tax, or other charge for the use of said highway by vehicles or
persons from the United States that does not apply equally to
vehicles or persons of such country;
(4) will continue to grant reciprocal recognition of vehicle
registration and drivers' licenses in accordance with the
provisions of the Convention for the Regulation of Inter-American
Automotive Traffic, which was opened for signature at the Pan
American Union in Washington on December 15, 1943, and to which
such country and the United States are parties, or of any other
treaty or international convention establishing similar
reciprocal recognition; and
(5) will provide for the maintenance of said highway after its
completion in condition adequately to serve the needs of present
and future traffic.
(b) The survey and construction work authorized by this section
shall be under the administration of the Secretary, who shall
consult with the appropriate officials of the Department of State
with respect to matters involving the foreign relations of this
Government, and such negotiations with the Governments of the
American Republics named in subsection (a) of this section as may
be required to carry out the purposes of this section shall be
conducted through, or as authorized by, the Department of State.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not create nor authorize
the creation of any obligations on the part of the Government of
the United States with respect to any expenditures for highway
construction or survey heretofore or hereafter undertaken in any of
the countries enumerated in subsection (a) of this section, other
than the expenditures authorized by the provisions of this section.
(d) Appropriations made pursuant to any authorizations
heretofore, or hereafter enacted for the Inter-American Highway
shall be considered available for expenditure by the Secretary for
necessary administrative and engineering expenses in connection
with the Inter-American Highway program.
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