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

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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations

with the Government of Bulgaria on Certain Wool Textile Products

December 13, 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 November 29, 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 Bulgaria with

respect to women's and girls' wool suits in Category 444, produced or

manufactured in Bulgaria.

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

solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of

Bulgaria, 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 Bulgaria and exported during the twelve-month period

which began on November 29, 1995 and extends through November 28, 1996,

at a level of not less than 59,569 numbers.

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 Troy H. Cribb, 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 Bulgaria.

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 444. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government of Bulgaria, 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).

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Statement of Serious Damage

Bulgaria

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

November 1995

Import Situation and Conclusion

U.S. imports of women's and girls' wool suits, Category 444, from

Bulgaria reached 59,569 units for the year-ending August 1995, almost

14 times the 4,305 units imported during the same period a year

earlier. Bulgaria shipped 41,624 units during 1994 and 1,161 units in

1992. There were no imports from Bulgaria in 1993. Imports from

Bulgaria were 4.6 percent of total U.S. imports of Category 444 in the

year-ending August 1995, and were equivalent to 1.5 percent of U.S.

production of Category 444 for the year-ending June 1995.

U.S. imports of women's and girls' wool suits from Bulgaria in

Category 444 during the first eight months of 1995 was $50.27 per unit,

65 percent below the average U.S. producers' price for women's and

girls' wool suits.

The sharp and substantial increase of low-valued Category 444

imports from Bulgaria is causing serious damage to the U.S. domestic

industry producing women's and girls' wool suits.

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

U.S. production of women's and girls' wool suits, Category 444,

fell from 6,286,000 units in 1992 to 4,309,000 units in 1994, a decline

of 31 percent. Domestic production of women's and girls' wool suits

continued to decline in 1995, falling to 3,961,000 units in the year-

ending June 1995, 22 percent below the year-ending June 1994 level. In

contrast, imports of Category 444 increased from 943,000 units in 1992

to 1,093,000 units in 1994, a 16 percent increase. Category 444 imports

surged to 1,307,000 units in the year-ending August 1995, 24 percent

above the year-ending August 1994 level.

The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 15

percent in 1992 to 25 percent in 1994 to 31 percent in the year-ending

June 1995. The share of the U.S. market for women's and girls' wool

suits held by domestic manufacturers fell from 92 percent in 1992 to 88

percent in 1994, and to 82 percent in the year-ending June 1995.

[FR Doc. 95-30812 Filed 12-18-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F