Certain Apparel From Sri Lanka; Revocation of Countervailing Duty Order

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[C-542-401]

Certain Apparel From Sri Lanka; Revocation of Countervailing Duty

Order

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of revocation of Countervailing Duty Order.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) is revoking the

countervailing duty order on certain apparel from Sri Lanka (50 FR

9826) pursuant to a decision of the Court of International Trade (CIT)

on June 24, 1994.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 18, 1992.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martina Tkadlec or Kelly Parkhill,

Office of Countervailing Compliance, Import Administration,

International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th

Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230;

telephone: (202) 482-2786.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On October 22, 1993, the Department reinstated the countervailing

duty orders on certain apparel and certain textile mill products from

Sri Lanka, effective May 18, 1992 (58 FR 54552). These reinstatements

were made pursuant to orders of the CIT and the Court of Appeals for

the Federal Circuit. (Belton Industries, Inc. v. United States, Slip

Op. 92-64 (CIT 1992), aff'd, 6 F.3d 756 (Fed Cir. 1993) ``Belton''.) On

November 19, 1993, the Government of Sri Lanka filed an action with the

CIT challenging the reinstatement of the countervailing duty order on

certain apparel from Sri Lanka. The Government of Sri Lanka argued that

the Belton decisions only applied to the countervailing duty order on

certain textile mill products from Sri Lanka. The Department concurred

with the Government of Sri Lanka, and consented to judgment in this

case. On June 24, 1994, the CIT ordered the Department to revoke the

countervailing duty order on certain apparel from Sri Lanka. Because an

injunction was issued in this case, and because no adversely affected

interested party has standing as a party to the litigation to appeal

the CIT's decision, the Department is immediately revoking the

countervailing duty order on certain apparel from Sri Lanka, effective

May 18, 1992.

Scope of the Order

Imports covered by this order are shipments of certain apparel from

Sri Lanka. The scope of this order, published in the Appendix of the

Federal Register notice of Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty

Determination and Order on Certain Apparel from Sri Lanka (50 FR 9826),

was originally defined solely in terms of the Tariff Schedules of the

United States Annotated (TSUSA) item numbers; no narrative product

description was provided. On January 11, 1989, the Department published

a conversion from TSUSA to Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) item

numbers, and the U.S. Customs Service has been suspending liquidation

according to that conversion since then.

Instructions to Customs

The Department will instruct the U.S. Customs Service to terminate

suspension of liquidation of certain apparel from Sri Lanka as of the

date of publication of this notice, and to liquidate, without regard to

countervailing duties, all unliquidated entries of certain apparel

exported from Sri Lanka on or after May 18, 1992.

Dated: August 18, 1994.

Joseph A. Spetrini,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Compliance.

[FR Doc. 94-20845 Filed 8-24-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P