Establishment of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Man- Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in the United Arab Emirates

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Establishment of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Man-

Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textile Products

Produced or Manufactured in the United Arab Emirates

December 20, 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); Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

The import restraint limits for textile products, produced or

manufactured in the United Arab Emirates 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 limits for the 1997 period. The

1997 levels for Categories 315 and 361 are zero. The levels for certain

categories 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 notices 61 FR 66263, published on December 17, 1996).

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.

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

December 20, 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 and extended, 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 textiles and textile products in the following

categories, produced or manufactured in the United Arab Emirates 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

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

219....................................... 1,138,253 square meters.

226/313................................... 1,946,441 square meters.

315....................................... -0-.

317....................................... 31,400,061 square meters.

326....................................... 1,837,444 square meters.

334/634................................... 219,026 dozen.

335/635/835............................... 150,357 dozen.

336/636................................... 189,822 dozen.

338/339................................... 573,747 dozen of which not

more than 361,148 dozen

shall be in Categories 338-

S/339-S \1\.

340/640................................... 335,839 dozen.

341/641................................... 311,463 dozen.

342/642................................... 245,650 dozen.

347/348................................... 426,212 dozen of which not

more than 213,106 dozen

shall be in Categories 347-

T/348-T \2\.

351/651................................... 177,846 dozen.

352....................................... 327,856 dozen.

361....................................... -0-.

363....................................... 6,021,317 numbers.

369-S \3\................................. 80,499 kilograms.

369-O \4\................................. 578,957 kilograms.

638/639................................... 219,026 dozen.

647/648................................... 332,495 dozen.

[[Page 68249]]

847....................................... 208,776 dozen.

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\1\ Category 338-S: only HTS numbers 6103.22.0050, 6105.10.0010,

6105.10.0030, 6105.90.8010, 6109.10.0027, 6110.20.1025, 6110.20.2040,

6110.20.2065, 6110.90.9068, 6112.11.0030 and 6114.20.0005; Category

339-S: only HTS numbers 6104.22.0060, 6104.29.2049, 6106.10.0010,

6106.10.0030, 6106.90.2510, 6106.90.3010, 6109.10.0070, 6110.20.1030,

6110.20.2045, 6110.20.2075, 6110.90.9070, 6112.11.0040, 6114.20.0010

and 6117.90.9020.

\2\ Category 347-T: only HTS numbers 6103.19.2015, 6103.19.9020,

6103.22.0030, 6103.42.1020, 6103.42.1040, 6103.49.8010, 6112.11.0050,

6113.00.9038, 6203.19.1020, 6203.19.9020, 6203.22.3020, 6203.42.4005,

6203.42.4010, 6203.42.4015, 6203.42.4025, 6203.42.4035, 6203.42.4045,

6203.49.8020, 6210.40.9033, 6211.20.1520, 6211.20.3810 and

6211.32.0040; Category 348-T: only HTS numbers 6104.12.0030,

6104.19.8030, 6104.22.0040, 6104.29.2034, 6104.62.2010, 6104.62.2025,

6104.69.8022, 6112.11.0060, 6113.00.9042, 6117.90.9060, 6204.12.0030,

6204.19.8030, 6204.22.3040, 6204.29.4034, 6204.62.3000, 6204.62.4005,

6204.62.4010, 6204.62.4020, 6204.62.4030, 6204.62.4040, 6204.62.4050,

6204.69.6010, 6304.69.9010. 6210.50.9060, 6211.20.1550, 6211.20.6810,

6211.42.0030 and 6217.90.9050.

\3\ Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.

\4\ Category 369-O: all HTS numbers except 6307.10.2005 (Category 369-

S).

Imports charged to these category limits for the period

beginning January 1, 1996 and extending 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,

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

[FR Doc. 96-32983 Filed 12-26-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F