Settlement of Import Limits for Certain Wool Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Russia

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Settlement of Import Limits for Certain Wool Textile Products

Produced or Manufactured in Russia

September 19, 1996.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing

a limit.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 1996.

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 the quota status of this

limit, 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).

A notice published in the Federal Register on September 20, 1995

(60 FR 48695) announces a request by the Government of the United

States for consultations with the Government of the Russian Federation

with respect to women's and girls' wool coats in Category 435.

In a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated August 5, 1996, the

Governments of the United States and the Russian Federation agree to

establish limits for wool textile products in Category 435 for four

consecutive one-year periods, beginning on October 1, 1996 and

extending through September 30, 2000.

In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the

Commissioner of Customs to establish a limit for Category 435 for the

period October 1, 1996 through September 30, 1997.

This limit may be subject to revision pursuant to the Uruguay Round

Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing

on the date that the Russian Federation becomes a member of the World

Trade Organization.

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 60 FR 65299, published on December 19, 1995).

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 August 5, 1996 MOU, but are designed to assist only in the

implementation of certain of its provisions.

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

September 19, 1996.

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); the Memorandum

of Understanding dated August 5, 1996 between the Governments of the

United States and the Russian Federation; and in accordance with the

provisions of Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended,

you are directed to prohibit, effective on October 1, 1996, entry

into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse

for consumption of wool textile products in Category 435, produced

or manufactured in the Russian Federation and exported during the

twelve-month period beginning on October 1, 1996 and extending

through September 30, 1997, in excess of 51,000 dozen.

Textile products in Category 435 which have been exported to the

United States prior to October 1, 1996 shall not be subject to this

directive.

[[Page 50280]]

Textile products in Category 435 which have been released from

the custody of the U.S. Customs Service under the provisions of 19

U.S.C. 1448(b) or 1484(a)(1) prior to the effective date of this

directive shall not be denied entry under this directive.

Should the Russian Federation become a member of the World Trade

Organization, the limit set forth above may be subject to revision

pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round

Agreement on Textiles and Clothing.

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 this action falls within the foreign affairs

exception to the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C.553(a)(1).

Sincerely,

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

[FR Doc.96-24519 Filed 9-24-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F