COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

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

December 22, 1997.

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


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

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1998.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Helen L. LeGrande, 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 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 limits for textile products, produced or manufactured in Sri Lanka and exported during the period January 1, 1998 through December 31, 1998 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 1998 limits. The limits for certain categories have been reduced for carryforward and special carryforward applied to the 1997 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 62 FR 66057, published on December 17, 1997).

J. Hayden Boyd,Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.



Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
December 22, 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, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in Sri Lanka and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 1998 and extending through December 31, 1998, in excess of the following levels of restraint:




CategoryTwelve-month restraint limit
237320,758 dozen.
3144,788,464 square meters.
331/6312,885,524 dozen pairs.
333/63360,379 dozen.
334/634635,953 dozen.
335/835297,004 dozen.
336/636/836418,883 dozen.
338/3391,271,907 dozen.
340/6401,216,593 dozen.
341/6412,002,582 dozen of which not more than 1,335,055 dozen shall be in Category 341 and not more than 1,335,055 dozen shall be in Category 641.
342/642/842695,239 dozen.
345/845190,571 dozen.
347/348/8471,067,528 dozen.
350/650132,076 dozen.
351/651328,802 dozen.
352/6521,356,701 dozen.
359-C/659-C11,373,102 kilograms.
3601,596,155 numbers.
36312,924,324 numbers.
369-D21,027,014 kilograms.
369-S3808,601 kilograms.
4347,351 dozen.
43515,753 dozen.
44010,502 dozen.
6116,251,607 square meters.
635396,006 dozen.
638/639/8381,008,379 dozen.
644566,044 numbers.
645/646226,417 dozen.
647/6481,213,969 dozen.
840314,843 dozen.
1Category 359-C: only HTS numbers 6103.42.2025, 6103.49.8034, 6104.62.1020, 6104.69.8010, 6114.20.0048, 6114.20.0052, 6203.42.2010, 6203.42.2090, 6204.62.2010, 6211.32.0010, 6211.32.0025 and 6211.42.0010; Category 659-C: only HTS numbers 6103.23.0055, 6103.43.2020, 6103.43.2025, 6103.49.2000, 6103.49.8038, 6104.63.1020, 6104.63.1030, 6104.69.1000, 6104.69.8014, 6114.30.3044, 6114.30.3054, 6203.43.2010, 6203.43.2090, 6203.49.1010, 6203.49.1090, 6204.63.1510, 6204.69.1010, 6210.10.9010, 6211.33.0010, 6211.33.0017 and 6211.43.0010.
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.

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 1997 shall be charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see directive dated December 20, 1996) 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,

J. Hayden Boyd,
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