Establishment of a New Export Visa Arrangement for Certain Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in the People's Republic of China

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Establishment of a New Export Visa Arrangement for Certain

Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber

Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in the People's

Republic of China

May 3, 1995.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing

a new export visa arrangement.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: May 15, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Aldrich, International Trade

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

Commerce, (202) 482-4212.

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).

In an exchange of notes dated November 3 and 23, 1994, the

Governments of the United States and the People's Republic of China

agreed to cancel the existing visa arrangement and establish a new

export visa arrangement for cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend

and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products produced and

manufactured in China and exported on and after May 15, 1995. Goods

exported during the period May 15-31, 1995 shall not be denied entry if

visaed in accordance with the old visa requirements. Goods exported on

and after June 1, 1995 must be visaed in accordance with the new visa

requirements, as set forth in the following directive to the

Commissioner of Customs.

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 November 20, 1994). Also see

49 FR 7269, published on February 28, 1984; and 52 FR 28741, published

on August 3, 1987.

A facsimile of the visa stamp was published in the Federal Register

on September 23, 1993 (58 FR 49475).

Interested persons are advised to take all necessary steps to

ensure that textile products that are entered into the United States

for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will meet

the visa requirements set forth in the letter published below to the

Commissioner of Customs.

Rita D. Hayes,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

May 3, 1995.

Commissioner of Customs,

Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.

Dear Commissioner: This directive cancels and supersedes the

directives issued to you on February 23, 1984, as amended, and July

29, 1983, as amended, by the Chairman, Committee for the

Implementation of Textile Agreements, that directed you to prohibit

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

vegetable fiber textiles and textile products, produced or

manufactured in China for which the Government of the People's

Republic of China has not issued an appropriate export visa.

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

as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); and pursuant to the January 17, 1994

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Governments of the

United States and the People's Republic of China; and in accordance

with the provisions of Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as

amended, you are directed to prohibit, effective on May 15, 1995,

entry into the Customs territory of the United States (i.e., the 50

states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto

Rico) 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 Categories 200-239, 300-369,

400-469, 600-670, and 800-899, including merged and part categories

(see Annex A), produced or manufactured in China and exported from

China on and after May 15, 1995, for which the Government of the

People's Republic of China has not issued an appropriate export visa

fully described below. Goods exported during the period May 15-31,

1995 shall not be denied entry if visaed in accordance with the visa

requirements in the directives dated February 23, 1984, as amended

and July 29, 1983, as amended. Should additional categories, merged

categories or part categories be added to the bilateral agreement,

the entire category(s) or part category(s) shall be included in the

coverage of this arrangement on an agreed effective date.

A visa must accompany each commercial shipment of the

aforementioned textile products. A circular stamped marking in blue

ink will appear on the front of the original textile export license/

commercial invoice or successor document. The original visa shall

not be stamped on duplicate copies of the invoice. The original

license/invoice with the original visa stamp will be required to

enter the shipment into the United States. Duplicates of the

license/invoice and/or visa may not be used for this purpose.

Each visa stamp shall include the following information:

1. The visa number. The visa number shall be in the standard

nine digit letter format, beginning with one numerical digit for the

last digit of the year of export, followed by the two character

alpha country code specified by the International Organization for

Standardization (ISO)(the code for the People's Republic of China is

``CN''), and a six digit numerical serial number identifying the

shipment; e.g., 5CN123456.

2. The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day,

month and year on which the visa was issued.

3. The signature of the issuing official.

4. The correct category(s), merged category(s), part

category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity in the shipment as

set forth in the U.S. Department of Commerce Correlation and in the

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS or successor

documents) shall be reported in the spaces provided within the visa

stamp (e.g., ``Cat. 340-510 DOZ'').

Quantities must be stated in whole numbers. Decimals or

fractions will not be [[Page 22568]] accepted. Merged category quota

merchandise may be accompanied by either the appropriate merged

category visa or the correct category visa corresponding to the

actual shipment (e.g., Categories 347/348 may be visaed as 347/348

or if the shipment consists solely of 347 merchandise, the shipment

may be visaed as ``Cat. 347,'' but not as ``Cat. 348'').

U.S. Customs shall not permit entry if the shipment does not

have a visa, or if the visa number, date of issuance, signature,

category, quantity or units of quantity are missing, incorrect or

illegible, or have been crossed out or altered in any way. If the

quantity indicated on the visa is less than that of the shipment,

entry shall not be permitted. If the quantity indicated on the visa

is more than that of the shipment, entry shall be permitted and only

the amount entered shall be charged to any applicable quota.

If the visa is not acceptable then a new visa must be obtained

from the Government of the People's Republic of China, replacement

visa issued by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in

Washington, DC., or a visa waiver may be issued by the Department of

Commerce at the request of the Embassy of the People's Republic of

China in Washington, DC., and presented to the U.S. Customs Service

before any portion of the shipment will be released. The waiver, if

used, only waives the requirement to present a visa with the

shipment. It does not waive the quota requirement.

Replacement visas shall consist of a textile export visa/invoice

form bearing an official Chinese Embassy embossed stamp on the front

and include the standard information required on an export visa and

the signature of an official authorized by the Government of the

People's Republic of China to issue replacement visas. The signature

must match one of two original signatures of authorized officials

provided to the Government of the United States of America by the

Government of the People's Republic of China. U.S. Customs will not

permit entry of the shipment if any of the information required on

the replacement visa is missing, incorrect or illegible, or has been

crossed out or altered in any way.

If the visaed invoice is deficient, the U.S. Customs Service

will not return the original document after entry, but will provide

to the importer a certified copy of that visaed invoice or visa

waiver.

If import quotas are in force, U.S. Customs Service shall charge

only the actual quantity in the shipment to the correct category

limit. If a shipment from China has been allowed entry into the

commerce of the United States with either an incorrect visa or no

visa, and redelivery is requested but cannot be made, U.S. Customs

shall charge the shipment to the correct category limit whether or

not a replacement visa or visa waiver is provided.

The complete name and address of a company actually involved in

the manufacturing process of the textile product covered by the visa

shall be provided on the textile visa document.

Merchandise imported for the personal use of the importer and

not for resale, regardless of value, and properly marked commercial

sample shipments valued at U.S.$250 or less, do not require a visa

for entry.

The existing visa stamp remains unchanged.

The actions taken concerning the Government of the People's

Republic of China with respect to imports of textiles and textile

products in the foregoing categories have been determined by the

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements to involve

foreign affairs functions of the United States. Therefore, these

directions to the Commissioner of Customs, which are necessary for

the implementation of such actions, fall within the foreign affairs

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

letter will be published in the Federal Register.

Sincerely,

Rita D. Hayes,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

ANNEX A

Part Categories

224-V Only HTS numbers 5801.21.0000, 5801.23.0000, 5801.24.0000,

5801.25.0010, 5801.25.0020, 5801.26.0010, 5801.26.0020,

5801.31.0000, 5801.33.0000, 5801.34.0000, 5801.35.0010,

5801.35.0020, 5801.36.0010 and 5801.36,0020.

224-O All HTS numbers in Category 224 except 224-V.

338-S All HTS numbers except 6109.10.0012, 6109.10.0014,

6109.10.0018 and 6109.10.0023.

339-S All HTS numbers except 6109.10.0040, 6109.10.0045,

6109.10.0060 and 6109.10.0065.

340-Z Only HTS numbers 6205.20.2015, 6205.20.2020, 6205.20.2050

and 6205.20.2060.

341-Y Only HTS numbers 6204.22.3060, 6206.30.3010, 6206.30.3030

and 6211.42.0054.

359-C Only HTS numbers 6103.42.2025, 6103.49.8034, 6104.62.1020,

6104.69.8010, 6114.20.0048, 6114.20.0052, 6203.42.2010,

6203.42.2090, 6204.62.2010, 6211.32.0010, 6211.32.0025 and

6211.42.0010.

359-V Only HTS numbers 6103.19.2030, 6103.19.9030, 6104.12.0040,

6104.19.8040, 6110.20.1022, 6110.20.1024, 6110.20.2030,

6110.20.2035, 6110.90.9044, 6110.90.9046, 6201.92.2010,

6202.92.2020, 6203.19.1030, 6203.19.9030, 6204.12.0040,

6204.19.8040, 6211.32.0070 and 6211.42.0070.

359-O All HTS numbers in Category 359 except 359-C and 359-V.

360-P Only HTS numbers 6302.21.3010, 6302.21.5010, 6302.21.7010,

6302.21.9010, 6302.31.3010, 6302.31.5010, 6302.31.7010 and

6302.31.9010.

369-D Only HTS numbers 6302.60.0010, 6302.91.0005 and

6302.91.0045.

369-H Only HTS numbers 4202.22.4020, 4202.22.4500 and

4202.22.8030.

369-L Only HTS numbers 4202.12.4000, 4202.12.8020, 4202.12.8060,

4202.92.1500, 4202.92.3015 and 4202.92.6090.

369-S Only HTS number 6307.10.2005.

369-O All HTS numbers in Category 369 except 369-D, 369-H, 369-L

and 369-S.

410-A Only HTS numbers 5111.11.3000, 5111.11.7030, 5111.11.7060,

5111.19.2000, 5111.19.6020, 5111.19.6040, 5111.19.6060,

5111.19.6080, 5111.20.9000, 5111.30.9000, 5111.90.3000,

5111.90.9000, 5212.11.1010, 5212.12.1010, 5212.13.1010,

5212.14.1010, 5212.15.1010, 5212.21.1010, 5212.22.1010,

5212.23.1010, 5212.24.1010, 5212.25.1010, 5311.00.2000,

5407.91.0510, 5407.92.0510, 5407.93.0510, 5407.94.0510,

5408.31.0510, 5408.32.0510, 5408.33.0510, 5408.34.0510,

5515.13.0510, 5515.22.0510, 5515.92.0510, 5516.31.0510,

5516.32.0510, 5516.33.0510, 5516.34.0510 and 6301.20.0020.

410-B Only HTS numbers 5007.10.6030, 5007.90.6030, 5112.11.2030,

5112.11.2060, 5112.19.9010, 5112.19.9020, 5112.19.9030,

5112.19.9040, 5112.19.9050, 5112.19.9060, 5112.20.3000,

5112.30.3000, 5112.90.3000, 5112.90.9010, 5112.90.9090,

5212.11.1020, 5212.12.1020, 5212.13.1020, 5212.14.1020,

5212.15.1020, 5212.21.1020, 5212.22.1020, 5212.23.1020,

5212.24.1020, 5212.25.1020, 5309.21.2000, 5309.29.2000,

5407.91.0520, 5407.92.0520, 5407.93.0520, 5407.94.0520,

5408.31.0520, 5408.32.0520, 5408.33.0520, 5408.34.0520,

5515.13.0520, 5515.22.0520, 5515.92.0520, 5516.31.0520,

5516.32.0520, 5516.33.0520 and 5516.34.0520.

440-M Only HTS numbers 6203.21.0030, 6203.23.0030, 6205.10.1000,

6205.10.2010, 6205.10.2020, 6205.30.1510, 6205.30.1520,

6205.90.3020, 6205.90.4020 and 6211.31.0030.

604-A Only HTS number 5509.32.0000.

604-O All HTS numbers in Category 604 except 604-A.

651-B Only HTS numbers 6107.22.0015 and 6108.32.0015.

659-C Only HTS numbers 6103.23.0055, 6103.43.2020, 6103.43.2025,

6103.49.2000, 6103.49.8038, 6104.63.1020, 6104.63.1030,

6104.69.1000, 6104.69.8014, 6114.30.3044, 6114.30.3054,

6203.43.2010, 6203.43.2090, 6203.49.1010, 6203.49.1090,

6204.63.1510, 6204.69.1010, 6210.10.9010, 6211.33.0010,

6211.33.0017 and 6211.43.0010.

[[Page 22569]]

659-H Only HTS numbers 6502.00.9030, 6504.00.9015, 6504.00.9060,

6505.90.5090, 6505.90.6090, 6505.90.7090 and 6505.90.8090.

659-S Only HTS numbers 6112.31.0010, 6112.31.0020, 6112.41.0010,

6112.41.0020, 6112.41.0030, 6112.41.0040, 6211.11.1010,

6211.11.1020, 6211.12.1010 and 6211.12.1020.

659-O All HTS numbers in Category 659 except 659-C, 659-H, and 659-

S.

669-P Only HTS numbers 6305.31.0010, 6305.31.0020 and

6305.39.0000.

669-O All HTS numbers in Category 669 except 669-P.

670-L Only HTS numbers 4202.12.8030, 4202.12.8070, 4202.92.3020,

4202.92.3030 and 4202.92.9025.

670-O All HTS numbers in Category 670 except 670-L

863-S Only HTS number 6307.10.2015.

863-O All HTS numbers in Category 863 except 863-S.

Merged Categories

300/301

317/326

338/339

338-S/339-S

347/348

445/446

638/639

644/844

645/646

[FR Doc. 95-11259 Filed 5-5-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F