Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations with Egypt 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 Egypt on Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products

February 15, 1994.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing

a limit.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: February 23, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Aldrich, International Trade

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

Commerce, (202) 482-4212. For information on the quota status of this

limit, refer to the Quota Status Reports posted on the bulletin boards

of each Customs port or call (202) 927-5850. For information on

embargoes and quota re-openings, call (202) 482-3715. For information

on categories on 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 January 31, 1994, under the terms of the Bilateral Cotton and

Man-Made Fiber Textile Agreement, effected by exchange of notes dated

March 15, 1992 and June 9, 1992, between the Governments of the United

States and Egypt, the United States Government requested consultations

with the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt with respect to

cotton and man-made fiber woven shirts in Categories 340/640, produced

or manufactured in Egypt.

The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, pending

agreement on a mutually satisfactory solution concerning Categories

340/640, the Government of the United States has decided to control

imports during the period which began on January 31, 1994 and extends

through December 31, 1994.

A summary market statement concerning Categories 340/640 follows

this notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

the treatment of Categories 340/640, under the agreement with the

Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt, or to comment on domestic

production or availability of products included in Categories 340/640,

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 the Arab Republic

of Egypt.

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 340/640. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt,

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--Egypt

Category 340/640--Men's and Boys' Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Woven

Shirts

January 1994

Import Situation and Conclusion

U.S. imports of men's and boys' cotton and man-made fiber woven

shirts, Category 340/640, from Egypt reached 424,073 dozen during the

year ending October 1993, more than six and one half times the 62,423

dozen imported from Egypt in the year ending October 1992. In the first

ten months of 1993, imports of Category 340/640 from Egypt reached

402,042 dozen, nearly seven times the January-October 1992 level and

nearly five times Egypt's total calendar year 1992 Category 340/640

imports.

The sharp and substantial increase of Category 340/640 imports from

Egypt is causing a real risk of disruption in the U.S. market for men's

and boys' cotton and man-made fiber woven shirts.

U.S. Production, Import Penetration and Market Share

U.S. production of men's and boys' cotton and man-made fiber woven

shirts fell from 16,956,000 dozen in 1989 to 12,850,000 dozen in 1992,

a decline of 24 percent. This decline continued in 1993, with U.S.

production falling to 6,320,000 dozen in the first half of 1993, 3

percent below the January-June 1992 level. In contrast, U.S. imports of

Category 340/640 increased from 26,637,000 dozen in 1989 to 30,395,000

dozen in 1992, a 14 percent increase. Category 340/640 imports

continued to increase in 1993, reaching 27,275,000 dozen during the

first ten months of 1993, five percent above the January-October 1992

level.

The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 157

percent in 1989 to 236 percent in 1992. This trend continued in 1993,

with the ratio of imports to domestic production reaching 238 percent

during January-June 1993. The domestic manufacturers' share of this

market fell from 39 percent in 1989 to 30 percent during the first half

of 1993, a decline of 9 percentage points.

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

Approximately 77 percent of Category 340/640 imports from Egypt

during the year ending in October 1993 entered the U.S. under HTSUSA

6205.20.2046--men's and boys' yarn dyed, napped woven cotton shirts,

other than dress and corduroy; HTSUSA 6205.20.2065--men's woven cotton

shirts, other than dress and corduroy, with one color in the warp and/

or the filling; and HTSUSA 6205.20.2075--boys' woven cotton shirts,

other than dress and corduroy, with one color in the warp and/or the

filling, other than imported as a part of a playsuit. These shirts

entered the U.S. at landed duty-paid values below U.S. producers'

prices for comparable men's and boys' woven shirts.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

February 15, 1994.

Commissioner of Customs,

Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.

Dear Commissioner: Under the terms of section 204 of the

Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854), and the

Arrangement Regarding International Trade in Textiles done at Geneva

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

pursuant to the Bilateral Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile

Agreement, effected by exchange of notes dated March 15, 1992 and

June 9, 1992, between the Governments of the United States and the

Arab Republic of Egypt; and in accordance with the provisions of

Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, you are directed

to prohibit, effective on February 23, 1994, entry into the United

States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption

of cotton and man-made fiber textile products in Categories 340/640,

produced or manufactured in Egypt and exported during the period

beginning on January 31, 1994 and extending through December 31,

1994, in excess of 467,062 dozen.\1\

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\1\The limit has not been adjusted to account for any imports

exported after January 30, 1994.

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Textile products in Categories 340/640 which have been exported

to the United States prior to January 31, 1994 shall not be subject

to the limit established in this directive.

Textile products in Categories 340/640 which have been released

from the custody of the U.S. Customs Service under the provisions of

19 U.S.C. 1448(b) or 1484(a)(1) prior to the effective date of this

directive shall not be denied entry under this directive.

Import charges will be provided at a later date.

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 this action falls within the foreign affairs

exception of the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).

Sincerely,

Rita D. Hayes,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

[FR Doc. 94-3915 Filed 2-18-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F