Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations on Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Nightwear and Pajamas

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations on

Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Nightwear and Pajamas

July 27, 1995.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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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 categories for which

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

[[Page 39367]]

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 June 29, 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 Costa Rica with respect to cotton

and man-made fiber nightwear and pajamas in Categories 351/651,

produced or manufactured in Costa Rica.

The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, pursuant

to the ATC, if no solution is agreed upon in consultations with the

Government of Costa Rica, the Committee for the Implementation of

Textile Agreements may later establish a limit for the entry and

withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton and man-made fiber

textile products in Categories 351/651, produced or manufactured in

Costa Rica and exported during the twelve-month period which began on

June 29, 1995 and extends through June 28, 1996, at a level of not less

than 170,979 dozen.

A summary statement of serious damage, or actual threat thereof,

concerning Categories 351/651 follows this notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

the treatment of Categories 351/651, or to comment on domestic

production or availability of products included in Categories 351/651,

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 Costa Rica.

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 351/651. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government of Costa Rica, 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

Cotton and Manmade Fiber Pajamas and Other Nightwear--Category 351/651

June 1995

The initial determination of serious damage, or actual threat

thereof, to the U.S. industry producing cotton and manmade fiber

pajamas and other nightwear, Category 351/651, was made in March 1995.

Pursuant to Article 6, paragraph 5, of the Agreement on Textiles and

Clothing, the March 1995 statement of serious damage, or actual threat

thereof, for cotton and manmade fiber pajamas and other nightwear,

Category 351/651, is herein updated to include Costa Rica to which

serious damage, or actual threat thereof, is attributed.

At the time of the initial determination of serious damage, or

actual threat thereof, imports from Costa Rica were down. Imports from

Costa Rica are now surging, increasing 17 percent for the year ending

March 1995 when compared with the same period in a year earlier, and

are up 129 percent during the first quarter of 1995 when compared with

the same period in 1994.

Serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to the domestic industry

resulting from the sharp and substantial increase in imports of cotton

and manmade fiber pajamas and other nightwear is attributed to imports

from Jamaica, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Honduras. The combination of

surging imports and low priced goods from these countries have resulted

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

hours worked, and total annual wages.

Total imports from these countries increased from 377,536 dozen in

1992 to 1,014,361 dozen in 1994, a sharp and substantial increase of

169 percent. During the year ending March 1995 imports from these

countries increased 52 percent when compared with the same period a

year earlier. Together their year ending March 1995 imports were 9.1

percent of total Category 351/651 imports and were 9.9 of total U.S.

production of Category 351/651 in calendar year 1994.

[FR Doc. 95-18938 Filed 8-1-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F