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

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations 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: Anne Novak (Costa Rica, Turkey),

Jennifer Tallarico (Dominican Republic), Jennifer Aldrich (Honduras)

and Ross Arnold (Thailand), International Trade Specialists, 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).

Under the terms of Article 6 of the Uruguay Round Agreement on

Textiles and Clothing (ATC) and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, the

Government of the United States requested consultations with the

Governments of Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Turkey and

Thailand with respect to cotton and man-made fiber underwear in

Categories 352/652. On March 29, 1995, CITA dropped its request for

consultations with Thailand on Categories 352/652 that was made on

November 28, 1994 (see 60 FR 2081, published on January 6, 1995) and

recalled under Article 6 of the ATC.

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

solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Governments of Costa

Rica, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Turkey and Thailand, 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 the aforementioned countries and

exported during the following twelve-month periods, beginning on the

date of the request for consultations, at levels of not less than the

specified amounts:

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Restraint period Restraint level

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Costa Rica

March 27, 1995-March 26, 1996...... 14,423,178 dozen.

Dominican Republic

March 27, 1995-March 26, 1996...... 16,442,148 dozen.

Honduras

March 27, 1995-March 26, 1996...... 6,550,810 dozen.

Turkey

March 28, 1995-March 27, 1996...... 1,291,118 dozen.

Thailand

March 29, 1995-March 28, 1996...... 1,586,005 dozen.

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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 Governments of Costa Rica, the

Dominican Republic, Honduras, Turkey and Thailand.

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 Governments of Costa Rica, the Dominican

Republic, Honduras, Turkey and Thailand, 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

Cotton and Manmade Fiber Underwear--Category 352/652

The sharp and substantial increase in imports of cotton and manmade

fiber underwear, Category 352/652, is causing serious damage to the

U.S. industry producing cotton and manmade fiber underwear.

Category 352/652 imports surged from 65,507,000 dozen in 1992 to

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

fiber underwear imports, Category 352/652, 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.

Serious damage to the domestic industry resulting from the sharp

and substantial increase in imports of cotton and manmade fiber

underwear is attributed to imports from the Dominican Republic, Costa

Rica, Honduras, Thailand and Turkey\1\. The combination of high import

levels, surging imports, and low priced goods from these countries have

resulted in loss of domestic output, market share, investment,

employment, and man-hours worked.

\1\El Salvador and Colombia called under domestic legal

authority. They are not WTO members.

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Total imports from the five countries listed above increased from

22,675,508 dozen in 1992 to 40,293,259 dozen in 1994, a sharp and

substantial increase of 78 percent. As a group their imports were up 32

percent in 1994 over their 1993 level. Together their 1992 imports were

35 percent of total Category 352/652 imports. Their share of total

category imports increased to 41 percent in 1994. Their 1994 imports

were 24.5 percent of total U.S. production of cotton and manmade fiber

underwear in the year ending September 1994.

[FR Doc.95-9906 Filed 4-20-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F