Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations with the Government of Nepal on Certain Man-Made Fiber Textile Products

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations

with the Government of Nepal on Certain Man-Made Fiber Textile Products

December 15, 1995.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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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 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 28, 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 Nepal with

respect to man-made fiber skirts in Category 642, produced or

manufactured in Nepal.

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

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

the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements may later

establish a limit for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse for

consumption of man-made fiber textile products in Category 642,

produced or manufactured in Nepal and exported during the twelve-month

period which began on November 28, 1995 and extends through November

27, 1996, at a level of not less than 92,081 dozen.

A statement of serious damage concerning Category 642 follows this

notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

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the treatment of Category 642, or to comment on domestic production or

availability of products included in Category 642, 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 Nepal.

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 642. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government of Nepal, 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

Nepal

Man-made Fiber Skirts--Category 642

November 1995

Import Situation and Conclusion

U.S. imports of manmade fiber skirts, Category 642, from Nepal

reached 92,081 dozen for the year-ending August 1995, three times the

29,006 dozen imported during the same period a year earlier. Imports

from Nepal during the year-ending August 1995 were 1.9 percent of total

U.S. imports of Category 642 and were equivalent to 2.1 percent of U.S.

domestic production of Category 642 for the year-ending June 1995.

U.S. imports of manmade fiber skirts from Nepal in Category 642

during the first eight months of 1995 entered the U.S. at an average

landed duty-paid value of $49.59 per dozen, 67 percent below the

average U.S. producers' price for manmade fiber skirts.

The sharp and substantial increase of low-valued Category 642

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

industry producing manmade fiber skirts.

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

U.S. production of manmade fiber skirts, Category 642, increased

from 5,119,000 dozen in 1992 to 5,227,000 dozen in 1993, an increase of

2 percent. Domestic production of Category 642 fell to 4,610,000 dozen

in 1994, 12 percent below the 1993 level and 10 percent below the 1992

level. Domestic production of Category 642 continued to decline in

1995, falling to 2,347,000 dozen in the first half of 1995, 7 percent

below the January-June 1994 level. In contrast, imports of Category 642

increased from 3,819,000 dozen in 1992 to 4,177,000 dozen in 1994, a 9

percent increase. Category 642 imports continue to increase in 1995,

reaching 3,657,467 dozen during January-August 1995, 28 percent above

the January-August 1994 level.

The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 75

percent in 1992 to 91 percent in 1994, and reached 113 percent in the

first half of 1995. The share of the U.S. market for manmade fiber

skirts held by domestic manufacturers fell from 60 percent in 1992 to

55 percent in 1994, and to 48 percent during January-June 1995.

[FR Doc. 95-31033 Filed 12-20-95; 8:45 am]

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