Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations with the Government of Russia on Certain Wool Textile Products

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations

with the Government of Russia on Certain Wool Textile Products

September 14, 1995.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naomi Freeman, 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.

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 August 31, 1995, in accordance with Section 204 of the

Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended, the Government of the United

States requested consultations with the Government of Russia with

respect to women's and girls' wool coats in Category 435, produced or

manufactured in Russia.

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

solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of Russia,

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 435, produced or

manufactured in Russia and exported during the twelve-month period

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

a level of not less than 45,896 dozen.

A summary market statement concerning Category 435 follows this

notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

the treatment of Category 435, or to comment on domestic production or

availability of products included in Category 435, is invited to submit

10 copies of such comments or information to D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting 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 Russia.

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

implementation of an agreement 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 435. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government of Russia, 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

Russia

Women's and Girls' Wool Coats--Category 435

August 1995

Import Situation and Conclusion

Imports of women's and girls' wool coats, Category 435, from Russia

reached 44,174 dozen for the year ending June 1995, 34 percent above

the 32,991 dozen imported in the year ending June 1994. Imports from

Russia during the year ending June 1995 were 3.6 percent of total U.S.

imports of Category 435, and were equivalent to 5.0 percent of U.S.

production of Category 435 in 1994.

U.S. imports of women's and girls' wool coats from Russia in

Category 435 during the year ending June 1995 entered the U.S. at an

average landed duty-paid value of $318.13 per dozen, 61 percent below

the U.S. producers' average price for women's and girls' wool coats.

The sharp and substantial increase of low priced imports from

Russia is causing serious damage to the U.S. industry producing women's

and girls' wool coats.

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

U.S. production of women's and girls' wool coats, Category 435,

declined in 1993 and in 1994, falling to 874,000 dozen, 7 percent below

the 942,000 dozen produced in 1993 and 11 percent below the 987,000

dozen produced in 1992. In contrast, U.S. imports of Category 435 from

all sources increased to l,203,000 dozen in 1994, 8 percent above the

1993 level and 44 percent above the 1992 level. Category 435 imports

continue to increase in 1995, reaching 1,246,000 dozen in the year

ending June 1995.

The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 84

percent in 1992 to 118 percent in 1993 to 138 percent in 1994. The

share of the U.S. women's and girls' wool coat market held by domestic

manufacturers fell from 54 percent in 1992 to 42 percent in 1994, a

decline of 12 percentage points.

[FR Doc. 95-23281 Filed 9-19-95; 8:45 am]

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