Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations With Colombia on Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Underwear

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations

With Colombia on Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Underwear

April 17, 1995.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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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 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 March 29, 1995, under the terms of Section 204 of the

Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended, the Government of the United

States requested consultations with the Government of Colombia with

respect to cotton and man-made fiber underwear in Categories 352/652,

produced or manufactured in Colombia.

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

solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of

Colombia, the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

may later establish a limit for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse

for consumption of cotton and man-made fiber textile products in

Categories 352/652, produced or manufactured in Colombia and exported

during the twelve-month period which began on March 29, 1995 and

extends through March 28, 1996, at a level of not less than 1,509,880

dozen.

A statement of serious damage concerning Categories 352/652 follows

this notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

the treatment of Categories 352/652, or to comment on domestic

production or availability of products included in Categories 352/652,

is invited to submit 10 copies of such comments or information to Rita

D. Hayes, 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 Colombia.

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 agreement

or the implementation thereof 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 Categories 352/652. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government of Colombia, 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).

Rita D. Hayes,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Statement of Serious Damage

Colombia

Cotton and Manmade Fiber Underwear

Category 352/652

Import Situation and Conclusion

U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber underwear, Category 352/

652, from Colombia reached 1,509,880 dozen in 1994, 46 percent above

the 1,032,210 dozen imported in 1993 and 160 percent above its 1992

level. Imports from Colombia were 1.6 percent of total U.S. imports of

Category 352/652 in 1994, and were equivalent to nearly 1 percent of

U.S. production of Category 352/652 in the year ending September 1994.

U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber underwear, from Colombia

in Category 352/652, entered the U.S. at an average landed duty-paid

value of $13.79 per dozen, 54 percent below U.S. producers' average

price for cotton and manmade fiber underwear. The sharp and substantial

increase of low priced imports from Colombia is causing serious damage

to the U.S. domestic industry producing cotton and manmade fiber

underwear.

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

U.S. production of cotton and manmade fiber underwear, Category

352/652, declined from 175,542,000 dozen in 1992 to 168,802,000 dozen

in 1993, a decline of 4 percent. Production continued to decline in

1994, falling to 126,962,000 dozen during the first nine months of

1994, 4 percent below January-September 1993 production level. In

contrast imports of Category 352/652 surged from 65,507,000 dozen in

1992 to 79,962,000 dozen in 1993, a 22 percent increase. Cotton and

manmade fiber underwear, Category 352/652, imports continued to

increase in 1994, reaching 97,375,000 dozen, 22 percent above the 1993

level and 49 percent above the level imported in 1992.

The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 37

percent in 1992 to 47 percent in 1993, and reached 54 percent during

January-September 1994. The share of this market held by domestic

manufacturers fell from 73 percent in 1992 to 68 percent in 1993, a

decline of five percentage points. The [[Page 19891]] domestic market

share dropped to 65 percent during the first nine months of 1994.

[FR Doc. 95-9903 Filed 4-20-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F