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

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Man-

Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textile Products

Produced or Manufactured in Oman

November 7, 1996.

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

Action: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing

limits.

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janet Heinzen, 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 Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected by exchange of notes

dated December 13, 1993 and January 15, 1994, as amended and extended,

between the Governments of the United States and the Sultanate of Oman

establishes limits for the period January 1, 1997 through December 31,

1997.

These limits are subject to revision pursuant to the Uruguay Round

Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing

(ATC). On the date that Oman becomes a member of the World Trade

Organization the restraint limits will be modified in accordance with

the ATC.

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

Commissioner of Customs to establish limits for the 1997 period. The

limits for Categories 338/339 and 340/640 have been reduced for

carryforward applied to the 1996 limits.

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).

Information regarding the 1997 CORRELATION will be published in the

Federal Register at a later date.

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 bilateral agreement, but are designed to assist only in the

implementation of certain of its provisions.

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

November 7, 1996.

Commissioner of Customs

Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.

Dear Commissioner: Pursuant to section 204 of the Agricultural

Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854), and the Bilateral Textile

Agreement, effected by exchange of notes dated December 13, 1993 and

January 15, 1994, as amended and extended, between the Governments

of the United States and the Sultanate of Oman; and in accordance

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

amended, you are directed to prohibit, effective on January 1, 1997,

entry into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from

warehouse for consumption of cotton, man-made fiber, silk blend and

other vegetable fiber textile products in the following categories,

produced or manufactured in Oman and exported during the twelve-

month period beginning on January 1, 1997 and extending through

December 31, 1997, in excess of the following levels of restraint:

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

Category Twelve-month restraint limit

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

334/634................................... 150,000 dozen.

335/635................................... 238,203 dozen.

338/339................................... 466,294 dozen.

340/640................................... 224,720 dozen.

341/641................................... 178,652 dozen.

347/348................................... 851,576 dozen.

647/648/847............................... 365,170 dozen.

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

Imports charged to these category limits for the period January

1, 1996 through December 31, 1996, 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 Oman become a member of the World Trade Organization, the

limits set forth above will be subject to adjustment in the future

pursuant to the provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, the

Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing and any

administrative

[[Page 58389]]

arrangements 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,

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

[FR Doc. 96-29198 Filed 11-13-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F