Establishment of an Import Restraint Limit for Certain Wool Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Myanmar

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Establishment of an Import Restraint Limit for Certain Wool

Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Myanmar

March 8, 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: March 15, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross Arnold, 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.

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).

Under the terms of Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as

amended, the Government of the United States has decided to establish a

restraint limit for wool trousers, breeches and shorts in Category 448,

produced or manufactured in Myanmar and exported during the twelve-

month period which began on March 1, 1994 and extends through February

28, 1995 at a level of 2,316 dozen.

A summary market statement concerning Category 448 follows this

notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

the treatment of Category 448 or to comment on domestic production or

availability of products included in Category 448, 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.

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 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.''

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--Myanmar

Category 448--Women's/Girls' Wool Trousers/Slacks/Shorts

February 1994

Import Situation and Conclusion

U.S. imports of women's and girls' wool trousers, slacks, and

shorts, Category 448, from Myanmar reached 2,316 dozen in 1993. There

were no Category 448 imports from Myanmar in 1991 or 1992.

The sharp and substantial increase of Category 448 imports from

Myanmar is causing disruption in the U.S. market for women's and girls'

wool trousers, slacks, and shorts.

U.S. Production, Import Penetration and Market Share

U.S. production of women's and girls' wool trousers, slacks and

shorts declined from 282 thousand dozen in 1989 to 169 thousand dozen

in 1992, a decrease of 40 percent. In contrast, U.S. imports of

Category 448 increased from 326 thousand dozen in 1989 to 395 thousand

dozen in 1992, a 21 percent increase. Category 448 imports increased to

461 thousand dozen in 1993, 17 percent above the 1992 level.

The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 116

percent in 1989 to 234 percent in 1992. The domestic manufacturers'

share of the women's and girls' wool trousers, slacks and shorts market

declined from 46 percent in 1989 to 30 percent in 1992, a decrease of

16 percentage points.

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

All of Category 448 imports from Myanmar during 1993 entered the

U.S. under HTSUSA 6104.61.0010--Women's and girls' knitted trousers and

breeches of wool. These trousers entered the U.S. at landed duty-paid

values below U.S. producers' prices for comparable women's wool

trousers.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

March 8, 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 in

accordance with the provisions of Executive Order 11651 of March 3,

1972, as amended, you are directed to prohibit, effective on March

15, 1994, entry into the United States for consumption and

withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of wool textile products

in Category 448, produced or manufactured in Myanmar and exported

during the period beginning on March 1, 1994 and extending through

February 28, 1995, in excess of 2,316 dozen\1\.

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

exported after February 28, 1994.

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Textile products in Category 448 which have been exported to the

United States prior to March 1, 1994 shall not be subject to the

limit established in this directive.

Textile products in Category 448 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.

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. 94-5756 Filed 3-10-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F