Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations with Guatemala on Certain Wool Textile Products

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations

with Guatemala on Certain Wool Textile Products

December 20, 1994.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naomi Freeman, 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 November 21, 1994, under the terms of Article 3 of the

Arrangement Regarding International Trade in Textiles, done at Geneva

on December 20, 1973, as further extended on December 9, 1993, the

Government of the United States requested consultations with the

Government of Guatemala with respect to men's and boys' wool suits in

Category 443, produced or manufactured in Guatemala.

The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that the request

for consultations on Category 443 (men's and boys' wool suits) was made

based on year ending August 1994 trade of 63,959 units (5,330 dozen).

A summary market statement concerning Category 443 follows this

notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

the treatment of Category 443, or to comment on domestic production or

availability of products included in this category, 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 Guatemala.

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 pursuant to the implementation of any

appropriate agreement between the Governments of the United States and

Guatemala 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 Category 443. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government of Guatemala, 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--Guatemala

Category 443--Men's and Boys' Wool Suits

October 1994

Import Situation and Conclusion

U.S. imports of men's and boys' wool suits, Category 443, from

Guatemala began in September of 1993 and reached a 12 month year-ending

August 1994 (September 1993-August 1994) level of 63,959 units (5,330

dozen). Guatemala's imports in calendar year 1993 (September-December)

were 7,915 units (660 dozen). There were no Category 443 imports from

Guatemala during the year-ending August 1993 nor during calendar year

1992. Guatemala shipped 1,930 units (161 dozen) in calendar year 1991.

The sharp and substantial increase in Category 443 imports from

Guatemala is disrupting the U.S. market for men's and boys' wool suits.

U.S. Production, Import Penetration, and Market Share

U.S. production of men's and boys' wool suits, Category 443,

declined from 383,000 dozen in 1992 to 326,000 dozen in 1993, a 15

percent decrease. Production for the first half of 1994, at 164,000

dozen, was flat relative to the 162,000 dozen produced during January-

June 1993. U.S. production for the year-ending June 1994 was 9 percent

below the year-ending June 1993 level. By contrast, U.S. imports

increased from 278,000 dozen in 1992 to 309,000 dozen in 1993, an 11

percent increase. Imports continued to increase in 1994, reaching a

record level of 334,000 dozen for the year-ending August 1994, 11

percent above the 302,000 dozen imported during the same period a year

earlier.

The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 73

percent in 1992 to 95 percent in 1993, and continued to increase in

1994, reaching 100 percent during the year-ending June 1994--U.S.

imports equalled U.S. production. The U.S. producer's share of the

domestic market fell from 58 percent in 1992 to 51 percent in 1993, a

decline of seven percentage points. The U.S. producer's share declined

to 50 percent for the year-ending June 1994.

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

All of Category 443 imports from Guatemala during the year ending

August 1994 entered under HTSUSA number 6203.11.2000--men's and boys'

woven wool suits, containing less than 30 percent by weight of silk.

These suits from Guatemala entered the U.S. at landed duty-paid values

below U.S. producers' prices for comparable wool suits.

[FR Doc. 94-31702 Filed 12-23-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F