Certain Apparel from Peru; Notice of Proposed Amended Conversion

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[C-333-402]

Certain Apparel from Peru; Notice of Proposed Amended Conversion

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce

ACTION: Certain Apparel from Peru: Notice of Proposed Amendment to the

Existing Conversion of the Scope of the Order from the Tariff Schedules

of the United States Annotated to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule.

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SUMMARY: On January 1, 1989, the United States fully converted to the

international harmonized system of tariff classification. On January

11, 1989, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published the

Conversion to Use of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of Classifications

for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings (54 FR 993; January

11, 1989) (1989 Conversion) for all antidumping and countervailing duty

orders in effect or investigations in progress as of January 1, 1989.

The Department now proposes to amend the 1989 Conversion governing the

countervailing duty order on certain apparel from Peru. Interested

parties are invited to comment on this proposed amended conversion.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 5, 1994.

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, NW., Washington, DC 20230, telephone

(202) 482-2786.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

In 1985, the Department issued a countervailing duty order on

Certain Apparel from Peru (C-333-402) (50 FR 9871; March 12, 1985). The

scope of this order 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 1, 1989, the

United States fully converted from the TSUSA to the Harmonized Tariff

Schedule (HTS). Section 1211 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness

Act of 1988 directed the Department to ``take whatever actions are

necessary to conform, to the fullest extent practicable, with the

tariff classification system of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule [for]

all * * * orders * * *'' in effect at the time of the implementation of

the HTS.

Accordingly, on January 11, 1989, after reviewing comments received

from the public, the Department published the 1989 Conversion for all

antidumping and countervailing duty orders in effect or investigations

in progress as of January 1, 1989 (54 FR 993). The notice also included

the conversion of the scope of the referenced apparel order from TSUSA

to HTS item numbers. The 1989 Conversion was based on a one-to-one

correspondence of the TSUSA and HTS item numbers. In the notice, the

Department stated that the conversion could be amended, as warranted,

at any time during the applicable proceeding as a result of the

submission of comments or new factual information.

As a result of comments submitted to the Department by the

importing public and advice received from the U.S. Customs Service, the

Department determined that the 1989 Conversion did not accurately

reflect the scope of the countervailing duty order on certain apparel

from Peru and, therefore, that the conversion should be amended.

To rectify the problems in the 1989 Conversion, the Department,

with the assistance of the U.S. Customs Service and the U.S.

International Trade Commission, has once again compared the TSUSA-

defined scope and the HTS-defined scope provided by the 1989

Conversion, and identified those HTS numbers that more reasonably

correspond with the TSUSA-defined scope of the countervailing duty

order on certain apparel from Peru. A new proposed amended conversion

is found in the attached appendix.

Request for Public Comments

We invite interested parties to submit comments on the proposed

amended conversion within 30 days of the publication of this notice.

All comments must be in writing (10 copies), addressed to the attention

of the Director, Office of Countervailing Compliance, International

Trade Administration, IA Central Record Unit, Room B-099, 14th Street

and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.

Susan G. Esserman,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix: Proposed Amended HTS List for Certain Apparel From Peru (C-

333-402)

*Coverage limited to garments that would be subject to this

order if separately entered.

Coverage limited to garments having embroidery or

permanently affixed applique work on the outer surface.

Coverage limited to garments of artificial fibers,

containing 23 percent or more by weight of wool or fine animal hair.

Coverage excludes garments having embroidery or

permanently affixed applique work on the outer surface.

Coverage excludes dresses of pile fabric and other

dresses of fabric having yarns of different colors.

Coverage excludes girls' garments, women's shorts, women's

trousers and breeches of pile fabric and other women's trousers and

breeches of blue denim.

}Coverage excludes shirts of pile fabric and other shirts

of fabric having yarns of different colors.

[FR Doc. 94-24655 Filed 10-4-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P