COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Wool and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in the Arab Republic of Egypt

October 21, 1999.

AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).


ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing limits.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2000.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roy Unger, International Trade Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 482-4212. For information on the quota status of these limits, refer to the Quota Status Reports posted on the bulletin boards of each Customs port, call (202) 927-5850, or refer to the U.S. Customs website at http://www.customs.ustreas.gov. For information on embargoes and quota re-openings, call (202) 482-3715.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:


Authority: Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended.


The import restraint limits for textile products, produced or manufactured in Egypt and exported during the period January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2000 are based on limits notified to the Textiles Monitoring Body pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC).

In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the Commissioner of Customs to establish the 2000 limits.

A description of the textile and apparel categories in terms of HTS numbers is available in the CORRELATION: Textile and Apparel Categories with the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (see Federal Register notice 63 FR 71096, published on December 23, 1998). Information regarding the 2000 CORRELATION will be published in the Federal Register at a later date.
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.



Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
October 21, 1999.


Commissioner of Customs,
Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.


Dear Commissioner: Pursuant to section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended; and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), you are directed to prohibit, effective on January 1, 2000, entry into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton, wool and man-made fiber textile products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in Egypt and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 2000 and extending through December 31, 2000, in excess of the following levels of restraint:


CategoryTwelve-month restraint limit
Fabric Group
218-220, 224-227, 313-O1, 314-O2, 315-O3, 317-O4 and 326-O5, as a group130,768,460 square meters.
Sublevels within Fabric Group
2182,508,000 square meters.
21930,766,900 square meters.
22030,766,900 square meters.
22430,766,900 square meters.
22530,766,900 square meters.
22630,766,900 square meters.
22730,766,900 square meters.
313-O56,496,844 square meters.
314-O30,766,900 square meters.
315-O36,129,848 square meters.
317-O30,766,900 square meters.
326-O2,508,000 square meters.
Levels not in a group
300/30112,157,140 kilograms of which not more than 3,812,906 kilograms shall be in Category 301.
338/3393,427,555 dozen.
340/6401,419,988 dozen.
369-S61,798,146 kilograms.
44819,762 dozen.
1Category 313-O: all HTS numbers except 5208.52.3035, 5208.52.4035 and 5209.51.6032.
2Category 314-O: all HTS numbers except 5209.51.6015.
3Category 315-O: all HTS numbers except 5208.52.4055.
4Category 317-O: all HTS numbers except 5208.59.2085.
5Category 326-O: all HTS numbers except 5208.59.2015, 5209.59.0015 and 5211.59.0015.
6Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.


The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment pursuant to the provisions of the ATC and administrative arrangements notified to the Textiles Monitoring Body.

Products in the above categories exported during 1999 shall be charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see directive dated October 1, 1998) to the extent of any unfilled balances. In the event the limits established for that period have been exhausted by previous entries, such products shall be charged to the limits set forth in this directive.

In carrying out the above directions, the Commissioner of Customs should construe entry into the United States for consumption to include entry for consumption into the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has determined that these actions fall within the foreign affairs exception of the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).

Sincerely,

Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. 99-0000 Filed 0-00-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F