Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Nepal

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton and

Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Nepal

November 29, 1995.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing

limits.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janet Heinzen, International Trade

Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of

Commerce, (202) 482-4212. For information on the quota status of these

limits, refer to the Quota Status Reports posted on the bulletin boards

of each Customs port or call (202) 927-5850. For information on

embargoes and quota re-openings, call (202) 482-3715.

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).

The Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected by exchange of notes

dated May 30 and June 1, 1986, as amended and extended, establishes

limits for the period beginning on January 1, 1996 through December 31,

1996.

These limits are subject to revision pursuant to the Uruguay Round

Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing

(ATC). On the date that Nepal becomes a member of the World Trade

Organization the restraint limits will be modified in accordance with

the ATC.

In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the

Commissioner of Customs to establish the 1996 limits. The 1996 limit

for Categories 336/636 has been reduced for carryforward applied to the

1995 limit.

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).

Information regarding the 1996 CORRELATION will be published in the

Federal Register at a later date.

The letter to the Commissioner of Customs and the actions taken

pursuant to it are not designed to implement all of the provisions of

the bilateral agreement, but are designed to assist only in the

implementation of certain of its provisions.

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

November 29, 1995.

Commissioner of Customs,

Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.

Dear Commissioner: Under the terms of section 204 of the

Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); pursuant to

the Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected by exchange of notes dated

May 30 and June 1, 1986, as amended an extended, between the

Governments of the United States and Nepal; and in accordance with

the provisions of Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as

amended, you are directed to prohibit, effective on January 1, 1996,

entry into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from

warehouse for consumption of cotton and man-made fiber textile

products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in

Nepal and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on

January 1, 1996 and extending through December 31, 1996, in excess

of the following levels of restraint:

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Category Twelve-month restraint limit

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336/636................................ 178,773 dozen.

340.................................... 301,067 dozen.

341.................................... 967,060 dozen.

342.................................... 146,795 dozen.

347/348................................ 678,138 dozen.

640.................................... 151,525 dozen.

641.................................... 341,652 dozen.

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Imports charged to these category limits for the period January

1, 1995 through December 31, 1995 shall be charged against those

levels of restraint to the extent of any unfilled balances. In the

event the limits established for that period have been exhausted by

previous entries, such goods shall be subject to the levels set

forth in this directive.

Should Nepal become a member of the World Trade Organization

(WTO), the limits set forth above will be subject to adjustment in

the future pursuant to the provisions of the Uruguay Round

Agreements Act, the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing

and any administrative arrangements notified to the Textiles

Monitoring Body.

In carrying out the above directions, the Commissioner of

Customs should construe entry into the United States for consumption

to include entry for consumption into the Commonwealth of Puerto

Rico.

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has

determined that these actions fall within the foreign affairs

exception of the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).

Sincerely,

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

[FR Doc. 95-29587 Filed 12-5-95; 8:45 am]

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