Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations on Women's and Girls' Wool Suits

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations on

Women's and Girls' Wool Suits

June 19, 1995.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne Novak (Colombia) and Janet

Heinzen (the Philippines), 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).

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

Governments of Colombia and the Philippines with respect to women's and

girls' wool suits in Category 444.

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

solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Governments of

Colombia and the Philippines, the Committee for the Implementation of

Textile Agreements may later establish a limit for the entry and

withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of wool textile products in

Category 444, produced or manufactured in Colombia and the Philippines

and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on May 31, 1995

and extending through May 30, 1996, at levels of not less than 132,420

numbers (Colombia) and 74,874 numbers (the Philippines).

A statement of serious damage concerning Category 444 follows this

notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

the treatment of Category 444, or to comment on domestic production or

availability of products included in Category 444, 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 Governments of Colombia and the Philippines.

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 444. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Governments of Colombia and the Philippines

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).

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

Statement of Serious Damage

Women's and Girls' Wool Suits--Category 444

May 1995

The sharp and substantial increase in imports of women's and girls'

wool suits, Category 444, is causing serious damage to the U.S.

industry producing women's and girls' wool suits.

Category 444 imports increased to 1,125,392 units in the year

ending February 1995, 7 percent above the year ending February 1994

level, and 19 percent above the level imported in calendar year 1992.

Serious damage to the domestic industry resulting from the sharp

and substantial increase in imports of women's and girls' wool suits is

attributed to Colombia and Philippines. The combination of high import

levels, surging imports, and low priced goods from these countries have

resulted in loss of domestic output, market share, employment, man-

hours worked, and total annual wages.

Total imports from these two countries increased from 186,271 units

in the year ending February 1994 to 207,294 units in the twelve months

ending in February 1995, a sharp and substantial increase of 11

percent. Together their year ending February 1995 imports were 18.5

percent of total Category 444 imports into the U.S during the year

ending February 1995, [[Page 32658]] and were 3.6 percent of total U.S.

production of women's and girls' wool suits in 1994.

[FR Doc.95-15386 Filed 6-22-95; 8:45 am]

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