Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations on Spun Yarn

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations on

Spun Yarn

May 11, 1995.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross Arnold, International Trade

Specialists, 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 April 27, 1995, under the terms of Article 6 of the Uruguay

Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) and the Uruguay Round

Agreements Act, the Government of the United States requested

consultations with the Government of Thailand with respect to spun yarn

containing 85 percent or more by weight artificial staple fiber in

Category 603, produced or manufactured in Thailand.

The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no

solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of

Thailand, the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

may later establish a limit for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse

for consumption of textile [[Page 26408]] products in Category 603,

produced or manufactured in Thailand and exported during the twelve-

month period April 27, 1995 through April 26, 1996, at a level of not

less than 1,249,659 kilograms. On April 27, 1995, CITA dropped its

request for consultations with Thailand on Category 603 that was made

on November 28, 1994 (see 60 FR 2081, published on January 6, 1995) and

resubmitted the request under Article 6 of the ATC.

A summary statement of serious damage concerning Category 603

follows this notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

the treatment of Category 603, or to comment on domestic production or

availability of products included in Category 603, 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 Thailand.

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 Category 603. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government Thailand, 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 59 FR 65531, published on December 20, 1994).

Rita D. Hayes,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Summary Statement of Serious Damage

Spun Yarn Containing 85 Percent or More By Weight Artificial Staple

Fiber--Category 603

April 1995

The sharp and substantial increase in imports of spun yarn

containing 85 percent or more by weight artificial staple fiber,

Category 603, is causing serious damage to the U.S. industry producing

spun yarn containing 85 percent or more by weight artificial staple

fiber.

Category 603 imports surged from 5,259,000 kilograms in 1992 to

9,886,000 kilograms in 1993, a 88 percent increase. Imports of spun

yarns containing 85 percent or more by weight artificial staple fiber,

Category 603, continued to increase in 1994 and 1995, reaching

12,966,000 kilograms during year ending January 1995, 27 percent above

the year ending January 1994 level and two and a half times the 1992

level.

Serious damage to the domestic industry resulting from the sharp

and substantial increase in imports of spun yarn containing 85 percent

or more by weight artificial staple fiber is attributed to imports from

Thailand. Surging imports and low priced yarns from Thailand have

resulted in loss of domestic output, market share, investment,

employment, and man-hours worked.

U.S. imports of spun yarn containing 85 percent or more by weight

artificial staple fiber, Category 603, from Thailand reached 1,249,659

kilograms during the year ending January 1995, three times the 408,257

kilograms imported during the year ending January 1994 and two times

Thailand's calendar year 1992 import level.

[FR Doc. 95-12107 Filed 5-16-95; 8:45 am]

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