Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Romania

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Wool,

Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and

Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Romania

February 1, 1996.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing

limits.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: February 8, 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 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).

In a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated December 15, 1995, the

Governments of the United States and Romania agreed to amend and extend

their Bilateral Textile and Apparel Agreement of December 20, 1994 for

three consecutive one-year periods, beginning on January 1, 1996 and

extending through December 31, 1998.

These limits may be subject to revision pursuant to the Uruguay

Round Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and

Clothing (ATC). On the date that the United States applies the Uruguay

Round Agreements to Romania, 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 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 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

February 1, 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); pursuant to

the Memorandum of Understanding dated December 15, 1995 between the

Governments of the United States and Romania; and in accordance with

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

amended, you are directed to prohibit, effective on February 8,

1996, entry into the United States for consumption and withdrawal

from warehouse for consumption of cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk

blend and other

[[Page 4628]]

vegetable fiber textiles and textile products in the following

categories, produced or manufactured in Romania and exported during

the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 1996 and extending

through December 31, 1996, in excess of the following limits:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twelve-month restraint limit

Category \1\

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cotton Group

200, 201, 218-220, 222-227, 229, 237, 239, 57,304,381 square meters

300, 301, 313-315, 317, 326, 330-342, equivalent.

345, 347-354, 359-363, 369, 800, 810, 831-

836, 838-840, 842-847, 850-852, 858, 859,

863, 870, 871 and 899, as a group.

Sublevels in Cotton Group

237..................................... 61,000 dozen.

313..................................... 1,672,255 square meters.

314..................................... 1,254,191 square meters.

315..................................... 3,018,212 square meters.

333/833................................. 119,538 dozen.

334..................................... 288,937 dozen.

335/835................................. 151,416 dozen.

338/339................................. 653,477 dozen.

340..................................... 285,238 dozen.

341/840................................. 119,538 dozen.

347/348................................. 510,032 dozen.

350..................................... 27,000 dozen.

352..................................... 181,818 dozen.

359..................................... 652,174 kilograms.

360..................................... 1,685,400 numbers.

361..................................... 1,123,600 numbers.

369..................................... 295,821 kilograms.

810..................................... 4,180,637 square meters.

836..................................... 56,180 dozen.

847..................................... 75,000 dozen.

Group III

431-436, 438-440, 442-448, 459, 630-654 64,593,247 square meters

and 659, as a group. equivalent.

Sublevels in Group III

433/434................................. 9,262 dozen.

435..................................... 9,688 dozen.

442..................................... 11,221 dozen.

443..................................... 86,557 numbers.

444..................................... 40,804 numbers.

447/448................................. 22,503 dozen.

459..................................... 34,019 kilograms.

633..................................... 44,199 dozen.

634..................................... 53,687 dozen.

638/639................................. 583,311 dozen.

640..................................... 80,225 dozen.

641..................................... 34,775 dozen.

647..................................... 80,737 dozen.

648..................................... 57,746 dozen.

659..................................... 101,768 kilograms.

Levels not in a group

410..................................... 167,225 square meters.

465..................................... 129,600 square meters.

604..................................... 1,596,321 kilograms.

618..................................... 1,672,255 square meters.

666..................................... 116,306 kilograms.

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

exported after December 31, 1995.

Imports charged to these category limits, except Categories 410,

465, 618 and 666, for the period January 1, 1995 through December

31, 1995, 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.

The conversion factors for the following merged categories are

listed below:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conversion factor (square

Category meters equivalent/category

unit)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

341/840................................... 12.1

433/434................................... 35.2

638/639................................... 12.96

------------------------------------------------------------------------

These limits may be subject to revision pursuant to the Uruguay

Round Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and

Clothing (ATC).

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,

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

[FR Doc. 96-2592 Filed 2-6-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F