Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Nepal

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Nepal

October 8, 2002.

AGENCY:

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION:

Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing limits.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

January 1, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Roy Unger, 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.gov. For information on embargoes and quota re-openings, refer to the Office of Textiles and Apparel website at http://otexa.ita.doc.gov.

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 Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected by exchange of notes dated May 30 and June 1, 1986, as amended and extended, and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated July 13, 2000 between the Governments of the United States and Nepal establish limits for the period January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2003.

These limits may be revised if Nepal becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO agreement to Nepal.

In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the Commissioner of Customs to establish the 2003 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 66 FR 65178, published on December 18, 2001). Information regarding the 2003 CORRELATION will be published in the

Federal Register

at a later date.

James C. Leonard III,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

October 8, 2002.

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; the Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected by exchange of notes dated May 30 and June 1, 1986, as amended and extended; and the Memorandum of Understanding dated July 13, 2000 between the Governments of the United States and Nepal, you are directed to prohibit, effective on January 1, 2003, entry into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton and man-made fiber textile products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in Nepal and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 2003 and extending through December 31, 2003, in excess of the following levels of restraint:

Category

Twelve-month restraint limit

336/636

344,775 dozen.

340

452,694 dozen.

341

1,257,755 dozen.

342/642

395,100 dozen.

347/348

1,019,668 dozen.

363

9,220,374 numbers.

369-S

1

1,074,647 kilograms.

640

227,839 dozen.

641

513,718 dozen.

1

Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.

The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment pursuant to the provisions of the current bilateral agreement between the Governments of the United States and Nepal.

Products in the above categories exported during 2002 shall be charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see directive dated November 23, 2001) 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.

These limits may be revised if Nepal becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO agreement to Nepal.

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,

James C. Leonard III,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

[FR Doc. 02-26144 Filed 10-11-02; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-S