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

June 16, 1995.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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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 categories for which

consultations have been requested, call (202) 482-3740.

[[Page 32510]] 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 May 31, 1995, under the terms of Section 204 of the Agricultural

Act of 1956, as amended, the Government of the United States requested

consultations with the Government of Guatemala with respect to cotton

and man-made fiber skirts in Categories 342/642, produced or

manufactured in Guatemala.

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

solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of

Guatemala, the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

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

for consumption of textile products in Categories 342/642, produced or

manufactured in Guatemala and exported during the twelve-month period

which began on May 31, 1995 and extends through May 30, 1996, at a

level of not less than 319,417 dozen.

A statement of serious damage concerning Categories 342/642 follows

this notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

the treatment of Categories 342/642, or to comment on domestic

production or availability of products included in Categories 342/642,

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 Guatemala.

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 342/642. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government of Guatemala, 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.

Statement of Serious Damage--Guatemala

Cotton and Manmade Fiber Skirts

Category 342/642

May 1995

Import Situation and Conclusion

U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber skirts, Category 342/642,

from Guatemala reached 319,417 dozen in the year ending February 1995,

22 percent above the 262,414 dozen imported in same period a year

earlier. Imports from Guatemala were 4.0 percent of total U.S. imports

of Category 342/642 in the year ending February 1995, and were

equivalent to 4.8 percent of U.S. production of Category 342/642 in

calendar year 1994.

U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber skirts from Guatemala in

Category 342/642 during 1994 entered the U.S. at an average landed

duty-paid value of $71.16 per dozen, 53 percent below U.S. producers'

average price for cotton and manmade fiber skirts.

The sharp and substantial increase of low valued Category 342/642

imports from Guatemala is causing serious damage to the U.S. domestic

industry producing cotton and manmade fiber skirts.

U.S. Production, Import Penetration, and Market Share

U.S. production of cotton and manmade fiber skirts, Category 342/

642, declined from 8,117,000 dozen in 1992 to 6,606,000 dozen in 1994,

a decline of 19 percent. In contrast imports of Category 342/642 surged

from 6,884,000 dozen in 1992 to 7,661,000 dozen in 1994, an 11 percent

increase. Category 342/642 imports continue to increase, reaching

7,908,000 dozen in the year ending February 1995.

The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 85

percent in 1992 to 116 percent in 1994. The share of this market held

by domestic manufacturers fell from 54 percent in 1992 to 46 percent in

1994, a decline of eight percentage points.

[FR Doc. 95-15338 Filed 6-21-95; 8:45 am]

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