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

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 Qatar

March 27, 1995.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing

import limits for the new agreement year.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: April 4, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Tallarico, 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 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated June 28, 1994 between

the Governments of the United States and the State of Qatar establishes

limits for the period beginning on January 1, 1995 and extending

through December 31, 1995.

These limits will be subject to revision pursuant to the Uruguay

Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) on the date that Qatar

becomes a member of the World Trade Organization, the restraint limits

will be modified in accordance with the ATC.

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).

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 MOU, but are designed to assist only in the implementation of

certain of its provisions.

Rita D. Hayes,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

March 27, 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 Memorandum of Understanding dated June 28, 1994 between the

Governments of the United States and the State of Qatar; and in

accordance with the provisions of Executive Order 11651 of March 3,

1972, as amended, you are directed to prohibit, effective on April

4, 1995, 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

the State of Qatar and exported during the period beginning on

January 1, 1995 and extending through December 31, 1995, in excess

of the following levels of restraint:

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Category Restraint limit\1\

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340/640............................ 344,500 dozen.

341/641............................ 159,000 dozen.

347/348............................ 392,200 dozen.

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\1\The limits have not been adjusted to account for any imports exported

after December 31, 1994.

Imports charged to these category limits for the period January

1, 1994 through December 31, 1994 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 Qatar 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 Agreement

on Textiles and Clothing and any administrative arrangement 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,

Rita D. Hayes,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

[FR Doc. 95-7895 Filed 3-30-95; 8:45 am]

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