Announcement of Import Restraint Limits and Guaranteed Access Levels for Certain Cotton, Wool and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Guatemala

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits and Guaranteed Access

Levels for Certain Cotton, Wool and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products

Produced or Manufactured in Guatemala

November 29, 1995.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing

import limits and guaranteed access levels.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1996.

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 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 import restraint limits for textile products, produced or

manufactured in Guatemala and exported during the period January 1,

1996 through December 31, 1996 are based on limits notified to the

Textiles Monitoring Body pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act

and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). The

Guaranteed Access Levels are being established pursuant to a Memorandum

of Understanding dated March 3, 1995 between the Governments of the

United States and Guatemala.

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

[[Page 62399]]

Commissioner of Customs to establish limits and guaranteed access

levels for 1996.

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.

Requirements for participation in the Special Access Program are

available in Federal Register notice 51 FR 21208, published on June 11,

1986; 52 FR 26057, published on July 10, 1987; 54 FR 50425, published

on December 6, 1989; and 55 FR 3079, published on January 30, 1990.

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 Uruguay Round Agreements Act and the ATC, but are designed to

assist only in the implementation of certain of their 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), the Uruguay

Round Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and

Clothing (ATC); 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, wool and man-made fiber textile products in the following

categories, produced or manufactured in Guatemala and exported

during the period beginning on January 1, 1996 and extending through

December 31, 1996, in excess of the following restraint limits:

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Category Twelve-month limit

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340/640................................... 1,161,407 dozen.

342/642................................... 408,100 dozen.

347/348................................... 1,390,651 dozen.

351/651................................... 244,993 dozen.

443....................................... 69,198 numbers.

448....................................... 43,356 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.

The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment in the

future according to the provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements

Act, the ATC and any administrative arrangements notified to the

Textiles Monitoring Body.

Pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding dated March 3, 1995

between the Governments of the United States and Guatemala; and

under the terms of the Special Access Program, as set forth in 51 FR

21208 (June 11, 1986), 52 FR 26057 (July 10, 1987) and 54 FR 50425

(December 6, 1989), effective on January 1, 1996, guaranteed access

levels are being established for properly certified textile products

assembled in Guatemala from fabric formed and cut in the United

States in the following categories which are re-exported to the

United States from Guatemala during the period January 1, 1996

through December 31, 1996:

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Category Guaranteed Access Level

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340/640................................... 520,000 dozen.

342/642................................... 100,000 dozen.

347/348................................... 1,000,000 dozen.

351/651................................... 200,000 dozen.

443....................................... 25,000 numbers.

448....................................... 42,000 dozen.

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Any shipment for entry under the Special Access Program which is

not accompanied by a valid and correct certification and Export

Declaration in accordance with the provisions of the certification

requirements established in the directive of January 24, 1990, as

amended, shall be denied entry unless the Government of Guatemala

authorizes the entry and any charges to the appropriate specific

limit. Any shipment which is declared for entry under the Special

Access Program but found not to qualify shall be denied entry into

the United States.

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. 95-29592 Filed 12-5-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F