COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in India

December 10, 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: Janet Heinzen, 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 India 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
December 10, 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, man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in India 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
Levels in Group I
21817,359,237 square meters.
21978,290,621 square meters.
31346,446,892 square meters.
3149,320,312 square meters.
31515,654,390 square meters.
31744,777,942 square meters.
32610,176,806 square meters.
334/634166,594 dozen.
335/635741,674 dozen.
336/6361,053,498 dozen.
338/3394,409,949 dozen.
340/6402,295,317 dozen.
3414,733,345 dozen of which not more than 2,840,005 dozen shall be in Category 341-Y1.
342/6421,501,893 dozen.
345232,071 dozen.
347/348746,646 dozen.
351/651317,471 dozen.
36354,248,537 numbers.
369-D21,553,985 kilograms.
369-S3847,628 kilograms.
6411,748,587 dozen.
647/6481,015,388 dozen.
Group II
200, 201, 220-227, 237, 239pt.4, 300, 301, 331-333, 350, 352, 359pt.5, 360-362, 600-604, 607, 611-629, 631, 633, 638, 639, 643-646, 649, 650, 652, 659pt.6, 666, 669pt.7, 670, 831, 833-838, 840-858 and 859pt.8, as a group135,993,674 square meters equivalent.
1Category 341-Y: only HTS numbers 6204.22.3060, 6206.30.3010, 6206.30.3030 and 6211.42.0054.
2Category 369-D: only HTS numbers 6302.60.0010, 6302.91.0005 and 6302.91.0045.
3Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.
4Category 239pt.: only HTS number 6209.20.5040 (diapers).
5Category 359pt.: all HTS numbers except 6406.99.1550.
6Category 659pt.: all HTS numbers except 6406.99.1510 and 6406.99.1540.
7Category 669pt.: all HTS numbers except 5601.10.2000, 5601.22.0090, 5607.49.3000, 5607.50.4000 and 6406.10.9040.
8Category 859pt.: only HTS numbers 6115.19.8040, 6117.10.6020, 6212.10.5030, 6212.10.9040, 6212.20.0030, 6212.30.0030, 6212.90.0090, 6214.10.2000 and 6214.90.0090.


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 December 4, 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,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. 99-0000 Filed 0-00-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F