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

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Wool

and Man-Made Fiber Textiles and Textile Products and Silk Blend and

Other Vegetable Fiber Apparel Produced or Manufactured in the

Philippines

November 29, 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: 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) 927-6713. 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); Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

The import restraint limits for textile products, produced or

manufactured in the Philippines and exported during the period January

1, 1997 through December 31, 1997 are based on limits notified to the

Textiles Monitoring Body pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act

and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC).

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

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

certain

[[Page 64508]]

categories have been reduced for carryforward applied in 1996.

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 Uruguay Round Agreements Act and the ATC, but are designed to

assist only in the implementation of certain of their provisions.

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

November 29, 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), the Uruguay Round

Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and

Clothing (ATC); 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, wool and man-made fiber textiles and textile products and

silk blend and other vegetable fiber apparel in the following

categories, produced or manufactured in the Philippines 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

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

Levels in Group I

237....................................... 1,636,359 dozen.

239....................................... 9,873,305 kilograms.

331/631................................... 5,299,047 dozen pairs.

333/334................................... 256,338 dozen of which not

more than 36,800 dozen

shall be in Category 333.

335....................................... 166,850 dozen.

336....................................... 573,122 dozen.

338/339................................... 1,965,057 dozen.

340/640................................... 925,678 dozen.

341/641................................... 835,307 dozen.

342/642................................... 495,722 dozen.

345....................................... 156,398 dozen.

347/348................................... 1,736,735 dozen.

350....................................... 138,454 dozen.

351/651................................... 540,683 dozen.

352/652................................... 2,249,594 dozen.

359-C/659-C \1\........................... 734,598 kilograms.

361....................................... 1,748,892 numbers.

369-S \2\................................. 396,430 kilograms.

431....................................... 168,147 dozen pairs.

433....................................... 3,115 dozen.

443....................................... 37,660 numbers.

445/446................................... 27,345 dozen.

447....................................... 7,603 dozen.

611....................................... 4,954,143 square meters.

633....................................... 33,840 dozen.

634....................................... 419,863 dozen.

635....................................... 337,476 dozen

636....................................... 1,582,353 dozen.

638/639................................... 2,141,438 dozen.

643....................................... 808,294 numbers.

645/646................................... 703,650 dozen.

647/648................................... 1,047,928 dozen.

649....................................... 7,101,186 dozen.

650....................................... 99,096 dozen.

659-H \3\................................. 1,303,839 kilograms.

847....................................... 864,812 dozen.

Group II

200-229, 300-326, 330, 332, 349, 353, 354, 147,367,002 square meters

359-O \4\, 360, 362, 363, 369-O \5\, 400- equivalent.

414, 432, 434-442, 444, 448, 459, 464-

469, 600-607, 613-629, 630, 632, 644,

653, 654, 659-O \6\, 665, 666, 669-O \7\,

670-O \8\, 831-846 and 850-859, as a

group.

Sublevel in Group II

604....................................... 1,854,158 kilograms.

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

\1\ Category 359-C: only HTS numbers 6103.42.2025, 6103.49.8034,

6104.62.1020, 6104.69.8010, 6114.20.0048, 6114.20.0052, 6203.42.2010,

6203.42.2090, 6204.62.2010, 6211.32.0010, 6211.32.0025 and

6211.42.0010; Category 659-C: only HTS numbers 6103.23.0055,

6103.43.2020, 6103.43.2025, 6103.49.2000, 6103.49.8038, 6104.63.1020,

6104.63.1030, 6104.69.1000, 6104.69.8014, 6114.30.3044, 6114.30.3054,

6203.43.2010, 6203.43.2090, 6203.49.1010, 6203.49.1090, 6204.63.1510,

6204.69.1010, 6210.10.9010, 6211.33.0010, 6211.33.0017 and

6211.43.0010.

\2\ Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.

\3\ Category 659-H: only HTS numbers 6502.00.9030, 6504.00.9015,

6504.00.9060, 6505.90.5090, 6505.90.6090, 6505.90.7090 and

6505.90.8090.

\4\ Category 359-O: all HTS numbers except 6103.42.2025, 6103.49.8034,

6104.62.1020, 6104.69.8010, 6114.20.0048, 6114.20.0052, 6203.42.2010,

6203.42.2090, 6204.62.2010, 6211.32.0010, 6211.32.0025 and

6211.42.0010 (Category 359-C).

\5\ Category 369-O: all HTS numbers except 6307.10.2005 (Category 369-

S).

\6\ Category 659-O: all HTS numbers except 6103.23.0055, 6103.43.2020,

6103.43.2025, 6103.49.2000, 6103.49.8038, 6104.63.1020, 6104.63.1030,

6104.69.1000, 6104.69.8014, 6114.30.3044, 6114.30.3054, 6203.43.2010,

6203.43.2090, 6203.49.1010, 6203.49.1090, 6204.63.1510, 6204.69.1010,

6210.10.9010, 6211.33.0010, 6211.33.0017, 6211.43.0010 (Category 659-

C); 6502.00.9030, 6504.00.9015, 6504.00.9060, 6505.90.5090,

6505.90.6090, 6505.90.7090 and 6505.90.8090 (Category 659-H).

\7\ Category 669-O: all HTS numbers except 6305.32.0010, 6305.32.0020,

6305.33.0010, 6305.33.0020 and 6305.39.0000 (Category 669-P).

\8\ Category 670-O: all HTS numbers except 4202.12.8030, 4202.12.8070,

4202.92.3020, 4202.92.3030 and 4202.92.9025 (Category 670-L).

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.

The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment in the

future pursuant to the provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements

Act, the ATC and any administrative 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. 96-30965 Filed 12-4-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F