COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of an Import Restraint Limit for Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Fiji

November 12, 1997.

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


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

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1998.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross Arnold, International Trade Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 482-4212. For information on the quota status of this limit, refer to the Quota Status Reports posted on the bulletin boards of each Customs port or call (202) 927-5850. 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 limit for textile products, produced or manufactured in Fiji and exported during the period January 1, 1998 through December 31, 1998 is based on a limit 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 limit for the 1998 period. The sublimit for Categories 338-S/339-S/638-S/639-S is being reduced for carryforward applied to the 1997 sublimit.

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 61 FR 66263, published on December 17, 1996). Information regarding the 1998 CORRELATION will be published in the Federal Register at a later date.
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.




Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
November 12, 1997.


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, 1998, entry into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton and man-made fiber textile products in Categories 338/339/638/639, produced or manufactured in Fiji and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 1998 and extending through December 31, 1998, in excess of 1,279,924 dozen of which not more than 1,008,174 dozen shall be in Categories 338-S/339-S/638-S/639-S 1

1 Category 338-S: only HTS numbers 6103.22.0050, 6105.10.0010, 6105.10.0030, 6105.90.8010, 6109.10.0027, 6110.20.1025, 6110.20.2040, 6110.20.2065, 6110.90.9068, 6112.11.0030 and 6114.20.0005; Category 339-S: only HTS numbers 6104.22.0060, 6104.29.2049, 6106.10.0010, 6106.10.0030, 6106.90.2510, 6106.90.3010, 6109.10.0070, 6110.20.1030, 6110.20.2045, 6110.20.2075, 6110.90.9070, 6112.11.0040, 6114.20.0010 and 6117.90.9020; Category 638-S: all HTS numbers except 6109.90.1007, 6109.90.1009, 6109.90.1013 and 6109.90.1025; Category 639-S: all HTS numbers except 6109.90.1050, 6109.90.1060, 6109.90.1065 and 6109.90.1070.

The limit set forth above is 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 1997 shall be charged to the applicable category limit for that year (see directive dated October 16, 1996) to the extent of any unfilled balance. In the event the limit established for that period has been exhausted by previous entries, such products shall be charged to the limit 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 this action falls within the foreign affairs exception to the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).

Sincerely,

D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. 97-0000 Filed 0-00-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F