Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Nepal

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton and

Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Nepal

December 5, 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) 927-5850. 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 May 30 and June 1, 1986, as amended and extended, and a

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated November 6, 1996, between the

Governments of the United States and Nepal establish 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 Nepal 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

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

Category 340 has been reduced for carryforward and special 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 bilateral agreement and MOU, but are designed to assist only in the

implementation of certain of their provisions.

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

December 5, 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 Bilateral Textile

Agreement, effected by exchange of notes datead May 30 and June 1,

1986, as amended and extended, and a Memorandum of Understanding

dated November 6, 1996 between the Governments of the United States

and Nepal; 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

and man-made fiber textile products in the following categories,

produced or manufactured in Nepal 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:

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Category Twelve-month restraint limit

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336/636................................... 220,957 dozen.

340....................................... 260,067 dozen.

341....................................... 1,025,084 dozen.

342/642................................... 278,530 dozen.

347/348................................... 718,826 dozen.

369-S \1\................................. 900,000 kilograms.

640....................................... 160,617 dozen.

641....................................... 362,151 dozen.

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\1\ Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.

Imports charged to these category limits, except Category 369-S,

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 Nepal 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 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,

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

[FR Doc. 96-31461 Filed 12-10-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F