Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations with the Government of Nepal on Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations

with the Government of Nepal on Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber

Textile Products

August 10, 1994.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Tallarico, International

Trade Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of

Commerce, (202) 482-4212. For information on categories for which

consultations have been requested, call (202) 482-3740.

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).

On July 29, 1994, under the terms of Section 204 of the

Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended, the Government of the United

States requested consultations with the Government of Nepal with

respect to cotton and man-made fiber dresses in Categories 336/636,

produced or manufactured in Nepal.

The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no

solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of Nepal,

the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements may later

establish a limit for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse for

consumption of cotton and man-made fiber textile products in Categories

336/636, produced or manufactured in Nepal and exported during the

twelve-month period which began on July 29, 1994 and extends through

July 28, 1995, at a level of not less than 146,656 dozen.

A summary market statement concerning Categories 336/636 follows

this notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

the treatment of Categories 336/636, or to comment on domestic

production or availability of products included in Categories 336/636,

is invited to submit 10 copies of such comments or information to Rita

D. Hayes, Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; ATTN:

Helen L. LeGrande. The comments received will be considered in the

context of the consultations with the Government of Nepal.

Because the exact timing of the consultations is not yet certain,

comments should be submitted promptly. Comments or information

submitted in response to this notice will be available for public

inspection in the Office of Textiles and Apparel, room H3100, U.S.

Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,

DC.

Further comments may be invited regarding particular comments or

information received from the public which the Committee for the

Implementation of Textile Agreements considers appropriate for further

consideration.

The solicitation of comments regarding any aspect of the agreement

or the implementation thereof is not a waiver in any respect of the

exemption contained in 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1) relating to matters which

constitute ``a foreign affairs function of the United States.''

The United States remains committed to finding a solution

concerning Categories 336/636. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government of Nepal, further notice will be

published in the Federal Register.

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 58 FR 62645, published on November 29, 1993).

Rita D. Hayes,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Market Statement--Nepal

Category 336/636--Cotton and Manmade Fiber Dresses

July 1994

Import Situation and Conclusion

U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber dresses, Category 336/636,

from Nepal reached 174,621 dozen during the year ending May 1994, three

times the 58,596 dozen shipped during the year ending May 1993. During

the first five months of 1994, imports of Category 336/636 from Nepal

surged to 138,555 dozen, more than triple the 42,801 dozen imported

during the same period in 1993 and nearly double Nepal's total calendar

year 1993 level.

The sharp and substantial increase of Category 336/636 imports from

Nepal is disrupting the U.S. market for cotton and manmade fiber

dresses.

U.S. Production, Import Penetration and Market Share

U.S. production of cotton and manmade fiber dresses, Category 336/

636, fell from 15,290,000 dozen in 1989 to 12,710,000 dozen in 1993, a

decrease of 17 percent. In contrast, U.S. imports of cotton and manmade

fiber dresses, Category 336/636, increased from 5,891,000 dozen in 1989

to 6,312,000 dozen in 1993, a 7 percent increase. U.S. imports in

Category 336/636 are surging in 1994, increasing 33 percent in the

first five months of 1994 over the January-May 1993 level.

The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 39

percent in 1989 to 50 percent in 1993. The domestic manufacturers'

share of the cotton and manmade fiber dress market declined from 72

percent in 1989 to 67 percent in 1993, a decline of 5 percentage

points.

Duty-Paid Value and U.S. Producers' Price

Approximately 84 percent of Category 336/636 imports from Nepal

during the year ending May 1994 entered the U.S. under HTSUSA

6204.42.3050--Women's woven cotton dresses, other than corduroy; and

HTSUSA 6204.44.4010--Women's woven dresses of artificial fibers,

containing less than 36 percent wool or fine animal hair by weight.

These dresses entered the U.S. at landed duty-paid values below U.S.

producers' prices for comparable dresses.

[FR Doc. 94-20052 Filed 8-15-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F