Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Romania

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Wool,

Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and

Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Romania

April 24, 1995.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing

limits.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 2, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne Novak, International Trade

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

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

limits, 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).

The Bilateral Textile and Apparel Agreement of December 20, 1994

between the Governments of the United States and Romania establishes

limits for the period beginning on January 1, 1995 and extending

through December 31, 1995.

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 59 FR 65531, published on December 20, 1994).

The letter to the Commissioner of Customs and the actions taken

pursuant to it are not designed to implement all of the provisions of

the bilateral agreement, but are designed to assist only in the

implementation of certain of their provisions.

Rita D. Hyaes,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

April 24, 1995.

Commissioner of Customs,

Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.

Dear Commissioner: Effective on May 2, 1995, you are directed to

no longer count imports of textile products in Categories 410, 414,

464, 465, 469, 611, 613-615, 617-622, 624-629, 665, 666, 669 and

670, produced or manufactured in Romania and exported during the

period beginning on January 1, 1995 and extending through December

31, 1995 (see directive dated November 29, 1994).

Under the terms of section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956,

as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); pursuant to the Bilateral Textile and

Apparel Agreement of December 20, 1994 between the Governments of

the United States and Romania; and in accordance with the provisions

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

directed to prohibit, effective on May 2, 1995, entry into the

United States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for

consumption of cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend and other

vegetable fiber textiles and textile products in the following

categories, produced or manufactured in Romania and exported during

the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 1995 and extending

through December 31, 1995, in excess of the following limits:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Category Twelve-month restraint limit\1\

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cotton Group

200, 201, 218-220, 222-227, 229, 54,060,737 square meters

237, 239, 300, 301, 313-315, 317, equivalent.

326, 330-342, 345, 347-354, 359-

363, 369, 800, 810, 831-836, 838-

840, 842-847, 850-852, 858, 859,

863, 870, 871 and 899, as a group.

Sublevels in Cotton Group

315.............................. 2,847,370 square meters.

333/833.......................... 112,772 dozen.

334.............................. 272,582 dozen.

335/835.......................... 142,845 dozen.

338/339.......................... 616,488 dozen.

340.............................. 269,092 dozen.

341/840.......................... 112,772 dozen.

347/348.......................... 481,162 dozen.

360.............................. 1,590,000 numbers.

361.............................. 1,060,000 numbers.

836.............................. 53,000 dozen.

Group III

431-436, 438-440, 442-448, 459, 60,367,521 square meters

630-654 and 659, as a group. equivalent.

Sublevels in Group III

433/434.......................... 7,156 dozen.

435.............................. 7,575 dozen.

442.............................. 11,110 dozen.

443.............................. 104,237 numbers.

444.............................. 40,400 numbers.

447/448.......................... 20,200 dozen.

638/639.......................... 545,150 dozen.

Level not in a group

604.............................. 1,580,516 kilograms.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

\1\The limits have not been adjusted to account for any imports exported

after December 31, 1994.

Imports charged to these category limits for the period January

1, 1994 through December 31, 1994, shall be charged against those

levels of restraint to the extent of any unfilled balances. In the

event the limits established for that period have been exhausted by

previous entries, such goods shall be subject to the levels set

forth in this directive.

The conversion factors for the following merged categories are

listed below:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conversion factor (square meters

Category equivalent/category unit)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

341/840............................ 12.1

433/434............................ 35.2

638/639............................ 12.96

------------------------------------------------------------------------

In carrying out the above directions, the Commissioner of

Customs should construe [[Page 20970]] 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 these actions fall 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. 95-10473 Filed 4-27-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F