COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Consolidation and Amendment of Export Visa Requirements to Include the Electronic Visa Information System for Certain Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Taiwan

October 29, 1997.

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


ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs consolidating and amending visa requirements.

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 1, 1997.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lori E. Mennitt, International Trade Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 482-3400.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:


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



In exchange of letters, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) agreed to amend the existing visa arrangement for textile products, produced or manufactured in Taiwan and exported on and after November 1, 1997. The amended arrangement consolidates existing and new provisions of the export visa arrangement, including provisions for the Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS). In addition to the ELVIS requirements, shipments will continue to be accompanied by an original visa stamped on the front of the original commercial invoice issued by TECRO. Goods which currently require an exempt certificate shall not require an ELVIS transmission, but will continue to require the exempt certificate.

In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the Commissioner of Customs to amend the existing visa requirements for textile products produced or manufactured in Taiwan and exported on and after November 1, 1997.


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). Also see 56 FR 26656, published on June 10, 1991.

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take all necessary steps to ensure that textile products that are entered into the United States for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will meet the visa requirements set forth in the letter published below to the Commissioner of Customs.

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


Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
October 29, 1997.


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


Dear Commissioner: This directive amends, but does not cancel, the directive issued to you on June 5, 1991, by the Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, that directed you to prohibit entry of certain cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products, produced or manufactured in Taiwan for which the Coordination Council for North American Affairs (CCNAA) has not issued an appropriate export visa or exempt certification.

Under the terms of section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); and pursuant to the Export Visa Arrangement, effected by exchange of letters dated September 3 and 23, 1997, between the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) (formerly the CCNAA); and in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, you are directed to prohibit, effective on November 1, 1997, 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, including part categories and merged categories (see Annex I), produced or manufactured in Taiwan and exported on and after November 1, 1997 for which TECRO has not issued an appropriate export visa and Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS) transmission or exempt certification fully described below. Should additional categories, part categories or merged categories become subject to import quota the entire category(s), part category(s) or merged category(s) shall be included in the coverage of this arrangement. Merchandise exported on or after the date the category(s) is added to the agreement or becomes subject to import quotas shall require a visa signifying the new designation.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 (also known as the Textile Export Visa). 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 country code specified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (the code for Taiwan is ``TW''), and a six digit numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g., 7TW123456.



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 of the issuing official of Taiwan.

4.The correct category(s), merged category(s), part category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity in 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 (HTS 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. Merged category quota merchandise may be accompanied by either the appropriate merged category visa or the correct category visa corresponding to the actual shipment (e.g., quota Category 347/348 may be visaed as 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'').




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 or 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.If the visa is not acceptable then a new visa must be obtained from TECRO or its authorized agents or a waiver may be issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce at the request of TECRO or its authorized agents in Washington, DC., and presented to the U.S. Customs Service before any portion of the shipment will be released. The waiver, if used, only waives the requirement to present a visa with the shipment. It does not waive the quota requirement. Visa waivers will only be issued for classification disputes 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. A new visa number must begin with the numeric digit corresponding with the last digit of the year of export as previously stated.


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








ELVIS Requirements:
An ELVIS transmission as well as an export visa is required for each non-exempt entry subject to this directive.

A.Each ELVIS message will include the following information:
I.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 country code specified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (the code for Taiwan is ``TW''), and a six digit numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g., 7TW123456.

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


III.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 (HTS or successor documents).
IV.The manufacturer ID number (MID). The MID shall begin with ``TW,'' followed by the first three characters from each of the first two words of the name of the manufacturer, followed by the largest number on the address line up to the first four digits, followed by three letters from the city name.



B.Entry of a shipment shall not be permitted:

I.if an ELVIS transmission has not been received for the shipment from the country of orgin;

II.if the ELVIS transmission for that shipment is missing any of the following:

a.visa number
b.category or part category
c.quantity
d.unit of measure
e.date of issuance
f.manufacturer ID number

III.if the ELVIS transmission for the shipment does not match the information supplied by the importer or the Customs Broker acting as an agent on behalf of the importer, with regard to any of the following:

a.visa number
b.category or part category
c.unit of measure


IV.if the quantity being entered is greater than the quantity transmitted, or

V.if the visa number has previously been used, or canceled, except in the case of a split shipment, or if an entry has already been made using the visa number.




C.A new, correct ELVIS transmission from the country of origin is required before a shipment that has been denied entry for one of the circumstances mentioned in paragraph B.I-V will be released. Visa waivers will only be considered for circumstances described in paragraph B.I, if the shipment qualifies as a one time special purpose shipment that is not part of an ongoing commercial enterprise or for legitimate classification disputes.
D.A new correct ELVIS transmission from the country of origin is required for entries made using a visa waiver under the procedure described above.
E.Shipments will not be released for forty-eight hours in the event of a system failure. If system failure exceeds forty-eight hours, for the remaining period of the system failure the U.S. Customs Service will release shipments on the basis of the paper visaed document.


F.If a shipment from Taiwan has been allowed entry into the commerce of the United States with an incorrect visa, no visa, an incorrect ELVIS transmission, or no ELVIS transmission, 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 or a new ELVIS message is transmitted.

Annex II lists all the exempt products which will require a ``Non-Quota Exempt Certification.''

Other Provision:

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.$250 or less do not require a visa or exempt certification for entry and shall not be charged to the agreement levels. All other commerical shipments of the above mentioned require a visa along with an ELVIS transmission, or an exempt certification for entry.

Any shipment which is not accompanied by a valid and correct visa with an ELVIS transmission or exempt certification in accordance with the foregoing provisions shall be denied entry by the American Institute in Taiwan unless TECRO authorizes the entry and any charges to the agreement levels.



The actions taken concerning Taiwan with respect to imports of textiles and textile products in the foregoing categories have been determined by the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements to involve foreign affairs functions of the United States. Therefore, these directions to the Commissioner of Customs, which are necessary for the implementation of such actions, fall within the foreign affairs exception to the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1). This letter will be published in the Federal Register.

Sincerely,

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



Annex I
Part Categories (Descriptions below are for general reference only. Other miscellaneous products may also be included.)
347-WMen's and boys' woven cotton pants: only HTS numbers 6103.19.2015, 6103.19.9020, 6103.22.0030, 6103.42.1020, 6103.42.1040, 6103.49.8010, 6112.11.0050, 6113.00.9038, 6203.19.1020, 6203.19.9020, 6203.22.3020, 6203.42.4005, 6203.42.4010, 6203.42.4015, 6203.42.4025, 6203.42.4035, 6203.42.4045, 6203.49.8020, 6210.40.9033, 6211.20.1520, 6211.20.3810 and 6211.32.0040.
348-WWomen's and girls' woven cotton pants: only HTS numbers 6204.12.0030, 6204.19.8030, 6204.22.3040, 6204.22.3050, 6204.29.4034, 6204.62.3000, 6204.62.4005, 6204.62.4010, 6204.62.4020, 6204.62.4030, 6204.62.4040, 6204.62.4050, 6204.62.4055, 6204.62.4065, 6204.69.6010, 6204.69.9010, 6210.50.9060, 6211.20.1550, 6211.20.6810, 6211.42.0030 and 6217.90.9050.
359-CCoveralls and overalls: 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.
359-HHeadwear: only HTS numbers 6505.90.1540 and 6505.90.2060.
359-OOther: all HTS numbers except those in Category 359-C and Category 359-H.
369-LLuggage: only HTS numbers 4202.12.4000, 4202.12.8020, 4202.12.8060, 4202.92.1500, 4202.92.3015 and 4202.92.6090.
369-SShop towels: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.
369-OOther: all HTS numbers except those in Category 369-L and Category 369-S.
640-YShirts with two or more colors in the warp and/or filling: only HTS numbers 6205.30.2010, 6205.30.2020, 6205.30.2050 and 6205.30.2060.
640-OOther shirts: all HTS numbers except those in Category 640-Y.
641-YBlouses with two or more colors in the warp and/or filling: only HTS numbers 6204.23.0050, 6204.29.2030, 6206.40.3010 and 6206.40.3025.
641-OOther blouses: all HTS numbers except those in Category 641-Y.
647-WMen's and boys' woven man-made fiber pants: only HTS numbers 6203.23.0060, 6203.23.0070, 6203.29.2030, 6203.29.2035, 6203.43.2500, 6203.43.3500, 6203.43.4010, 6203.43.4020, 6203.43.4030, 6203.43.4040, 6203.49.1500, 6203.49.2015, 6203.49.2030, 6203.49.2045, 6203.49.2060, 6203.49.8030, 6210.40.5030, 6211.20.1525, 6211.20.3820 and 6211.33.0030.
648-WWomen's and girls' woven man-made fiber pants: only HTS numbers 6204.23.0040, 6204.23.0045, 6204.29.2020, 6204.29.2025, 6204.29.4038, 6204.63.2000, 6204.63.3000, 6204.63.3510, 6204.63.3530, 6204.63.3532, 6204.63.3540, 6204.69.2510, 6204.69.2530, 6204.69.2540, 6204.69.2560, 6204.69.6030, 6204.69.9030, 6210.50.5035, 6211.20.1555, 6211.20.6820, 6211.43.0040 and 6217.90.9060.
659-CCoveralls and overalls: 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.
659-HHeadwear: only HTS numbers 6502.00.9030, 6504.00.9015, 6504.00.9060, 6505.90.5090, 6505.90.6090, 6505.90.7090 and 6505.90.8090.
659-SSwimwear: only HTS numbers 6112.31.0010, 6112.31.0020, 6112.41.0010, 6112.41.0020, 6112.41.0030, 6112.41.0040, 6211.11.1010, 6211.11.1020, 6211.12.1010 and 6211.12.1020.
659-OOther: all HTS numbers except those in Category 659-C, Category 659-H and Category 659-S.
669-PPolypropylene bags: only HTS numbers 6305.32.0010, 6305.32.0020, 6305.33.0010, 6305.33.0020 and 6305.39.0000.
669-TTents and tarpaulins: only HTS numbers 6306.12.0000, 6306.19.0010 and 6306.22.9030.
669-OOther: all HTS numbers except those in Category 669-Pand Category 669-T.
670-HHandbags: only HTS numbers 4202.22.4030 and 4202.22.8050.
670-LLuggage: only HTS numbers 4202.12.8030, 4202.12.8070, 4202.92.3020, 4202.92.3030 and 4202.92.9025.
670-OOther: all HTS numbers except those in Category 670-H and Category 670-L.
Merged Categories and Subcategories
225/317/326
300/301/607
333/334/335
338/339
347/348
347-W/348-W
350/650
352/652
359-C/659-C
359-H/659-H
369-L/670-L/870
445/446
447/448
613/614/615/617
619/620
625/626/627/628/629
633/634/635
633/634
638/639
645/646
647/648
647-W/648-W





Annex II
Exempt Products Requiring Exempt Certification
1.Pincushions.
2.Embroideries (needle work), of man-made fibers with designs embroidered with wool thread.
3.Hand-made carpets, i.e., in which the pile was inserted or knotted by hand.
4.Christmas or Easter ornaments having a non-textile core or a non-textile structural frame and man-made fiber textile covering.
5.Martial arts uniforms, such as Kung Fu, Karate, and Judo uniforms.
6.Toy (novelty) animals, birds or insects with a plastic wire or other non-textile core that are covered or decorated with a textile thread or fiber.
7.Traditional Chinese caps.
8.Traditional Chinese garments:
Jackets_three quarter length or shorter, or woven fabrics, usually with Chinese figures in the weave but may be plain/woven otherwise figured or printed. They have a low Mandarin collar, long sleeves and full frontal openings, with ``front'' type closures (looped fastenings made of braid, cording, etc., used with a matching knot or toggle of the same material.)
Fur or imitation fur-lined jackets_ which may or may not be reversible and are otherwise identical in appearance and construction with the jackets described above.
Vests_sleeveless garments extending from the neck area to waist with or without pockets at the waist. They are otherwise identical in appearance and construction with the jackets described above.





[FR Doc. 97-0000 Filed 0-00-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F