COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Establishment of a New Export Visa Arrangement and New Certification Stamp for Outward Processed Goods for Certain Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Romania

December 9, 1999.

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


ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing new export visa and certification requirements.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2000.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naomi Freeman, International Trade Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 482-4212.


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.



On October 10, 1999, the Governments of the United States and Romania agreed to establish a new Export Visa Arrangement for certain cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products in Categories 200-239, 300-369, 400-469, 600-670 and 800-899, and for products exported under the Outward Processing Program (see related notice concerning implementation of the Outward Processing Program published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register), produced or manufactured in Romania and exported from Romania on and after January 1, 2000. All products exported on and after January 1, 2000 must be accompanied by an appropriate export visa or certification. This directive supersedes the directive published in the Federal Register on January 4, 1984 (see 49 FR 493).

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.

Interested persons are advised to take all necessary steps to ensure that textile products that are entered into the United States for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will meet the visa and certification requirements set forth in the letter published below to the Commissioner of Customs.

The visa stamp has not been changed; a facsimile of the new certification stamp for the Outward Processing Program is on file at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW, room 3104, Washington, DC.

Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.



Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
December 9, 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 Export Visa Arrangement, signed on October 10, 1999, this directive supersedes the directive dated December 29, 1983 (49 FR 493, published on January 4, 1984) which concerned the Export Visa Arrangement, effected by exchange of notes dated October 31, 1982 and March 25, 1983, between the Governments of the United States and Romania.

Visa Requirements
Effective on January 1, 2000, you are directed to prohibit entry into the Customs territory of the United States (i.e., the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products in Categories 200-239, 300-369, 400-469, 600-670 and 800-899, produced or manufactured in Romania and exported from Romania on and after January 1, 2000 for which the Government of Romania has not issued an appropriate export visa fully described below unless they are subject to the Outward Processing Program. Should additional categories, merged categories or part categories become subject to import quota, the merged or part category(s) automatically shall be included in the coverage of this visa arrangement. Merchandise in the category(s) exported on or after the date the category(s) becomes subject to import quotas shall require a visa.
A visa must accompany each commercial shipment of the aforementioned textile products. A circular stamped marking in blue ink will appear on the front of the original commercial invoice or successor document. The original visa shall not be stamped on duplicate copies of the invoice. The original invoice with the original visa stamp will be required to enter the shipment into the United States. Duplicates of the invoice and/or visa may not be used for this purpose.

Each visa stamp shall include the following information:

1.The visa number. The visa number shall be in the standard nine digit letter format, beginning with one numeric digit for the last digit of the year of export, followed by the two character alpha code specified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (the code for the Romania is ``RO'').
These two codes shall be followed by the number``1'' and a five digit serial number identifying the shipment, (e.g., 0RO112345).

2.The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day, month and year on which the visa was issued.

3.The original signature and the printed name of the issuing official authorized by the Government of Romania.

4.The correct category(s), merged category(s), part category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity of the shipment in the unit(s) of quantity provided for in the U.S. Department of Commerce Correlation and in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. Annotated or successor documents shall be reported in the spaces provided within the visa stamp (e.g., ``Cat. 340_510 DOZ'').

Quantities must be stated in whole numbers. Decimals or fractions will not be accepted. Visaed quantities are rounded to the closest whole number if the quantity exported exceeds one whole unit, but is less than the next whole unit. Half units are rounded up. If the quantity visaed is less than one unit, the shipment is rounded upwards to one unit. Merged category quota merchandise may be accompanied by either the appropriate merged category visa or the correct category visa corresponding to the actual shipment. For example, quota Category 347/348 may be visaed as ``Category 347/348'' or if the shipment consists solely of Category 347 merchandise, the shipment may be visaed as ``Category 347'' but not as ``Category 348.'' If, however, a merged quota category such as 340/640 has a quota sublimit on Category 340, then there must be ``Category 340'' visa for the shipment if it includes Category 340 merchandise.

U.S. Customs shall not permit entry if the shipment does not have a visa, or if the visa number, date of issuance, signature, category, quantity or units of quantity are missing, incorrect, illegible, or have been crossed out or altered in any way. If the quantity indicated on the visa is less than that of the shipment, entry shall not be permitted. If the quantity indicated on the visa is more than that of the shipment, entry shall be permitted and only the amount entered shall be charged to any applicable quota.

The complete name and address of a company(s) actually involved in the manufacturing process of the textile product covered by the visa shall be provided on the textile visa document.

If the visa is not acceptable then a new correct visa or a visa waiver must be presented to the U.S. Customs Service before any portion of the shipment will be released. A visa waiver may be issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce at the request of the Romanian Embassy in Washington, DC. The waiver, if used, only waives the requirement to present a visa with the shipment at entry. It does not waive the quota requirements. Visa waivers will only be issued for classification purposes or for one-time special purpose shipments that are not part of an ongoing commercial enterprise.

If the visaed invoice is deficient, the U.S. Customs Service will not return the original document after entry, but will provide a certified copy of that visaed invoice for use in obtaining a new correct original visaed invoice, or a visa waiver.

If import quotas are in force, U.S. Customs Service shall charge only the actual quantity in the shipment to the correct category limit. If a shipment from Romania has been allowed entry into the commerce of the United States with either an incorrect visa or no visa, and redelivery is requested but cannot be made, the shipment will be charged to the correct category limit whether or not a replacement visa or waiver is provided.

Certification Requirements for Outward Processing Program

Each shipment of wool apparel products in Categories 433, 434, 435, 442, 443, 444, 447 and 448 which has been either assembled in Romania from components cut in the United States from U.S. formed fabric or manufactured in Romania from U.S. formed fabric and is eligible for the Outward Processing Program, shall be so certified by the Government of Romania. This certification shall be presented to the U.S. Customs Service before entry, or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption, into the customs territory of the United States (the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico). Properly certified shipments of wool apparel products do not require a visa.

A certification must accompany each commercial shipment of the aforementioned textile products. A square stamped marking in blue ink will appear on the front of the original commercial invoice. The original certification shall not be stamped on duplicate copies of the invoice. The original invoice with the original certification stamp will be required to enter the shipment into the United States. Duplicates of the invoice and/or certification may not be used for this purpose.

Each certification shall include the following information:

1.The certification number. The certification number shall be in the standard nine digit letter format, beginning with one numerical digit for the last digit of the year of export, followed by the two character alpha country code specified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)(the code for Romania is ``RO''). These two codes shall be followed by the number ``2'' and a five-digit serial number identifying the shipment, (e.g., 0RO212345).

2.The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day, month and year on which the certification was issued.

3.The original signature of the issuing official.

4.The correct category(s), merged category(s), part category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity in the shipment as set forth in the U.S. Department of Commerce Correlation and the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), as amended.

U.S. Customs shall not permit entry if the shipment does not have a valid certification including certification number, date of issuance, signature, category, quantity or units of quantity are missing, incorrect or illegible, or have been crossed out or altered in any way. If the quantity indicated on the certification is less than that of the shipment, entry shall not be permitted. If the quantity indicated on the certification is more than that of the shipment, entry shall be permitted. The categories and quantities shall be those determined by the U.S. Customs Service.

If the certification is not acceptable, then a new certification must be obtained and presented to the U.S. Customs Service before any portion of the shipment will be released.

Any shipment which is not accompanied by a valid and correct certification in accordance with the foregoing provisions shall be denied entry by the Government of the United States unless the Government of Romania authorizes, by the issuance of a visa, the entry and any changes to the appropriate agreement levels. If U.S. Customs determines that the certification is invalid because of an error, and the remaining documentation fulfills requirement for entry under the Outward Processing Program, then a new certification from the Government of Romania must be obtained or a visa waiver issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce at the request of the Romanian Embassy in Washington, DC must be obtained and presented to the U.S. Customs Service before any portion of the shipment will be released.General Provisions

The date of export is the actual date the merchandise finally leaves the country of origin. For merchandise exported by carrier, this is the day on which the carrier last departs the country of origin.

Merchandise imported for the personal use of the importer and not for resale, regardless of value, and properly marked commercial sample shipments valued at U.S. $800 or less do not require an export visa for entry and shall not be charged to existing quota levels.

The visa stamp has not been changed; a facsimile of the new certification stamp is enclosed with this letter.

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has determined that these actions fall within the foreign affairs exception to 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