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

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Wool and Man-

Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Bulgaria

December 24, 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: 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); Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

Pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round

Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), the Bilateral Textile

Agreement, effected by exchange of notes dated April 22 and May 2,

1996, between the Governments of the United States and Bulgaria

establishes limits for the period beginning January 1, 1997 and

extending through December 31, 1997.

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

[[Page 69081]]

Commissioner of Customs to establish the 1997 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 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 Uruguay Round Agreement on

Textiles and Clothing, but are designed to assist only in the

implementation of certain of their provisions.

Philip J. Martello,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

December 24, 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, the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing

(ATC) and the Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected by exchange of

notes dated April 22 and May 2, 1996 between the Governments of the

United States and Bulgaria; 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 wool and man-made fiber textile products in the following

categories, produced or manufactured in Bulgaria 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 limit

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410/624................................... 2,282,937 square meters of

which not more than 823,698

square meters shall be in

Category 410.

433....................................... 12,300 dozen.

435....................................... 22,146 dozen.

442....................................... 14,350 dozen.

444....................................... 67,164 numbers.

448....................................... 25,345 dozen.

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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 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,

Philip J. Martello,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

[FR Doc. 96-33200 Filed 12-30-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F