Announcement of Import Limits and Special Access Levels for Certain Cotton, Wool and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Colombia

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Limits and Special Access Levels for

Certain Cotton, Wool and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or

Manufactured in Colombia

January 11, 1996.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing

limits and Special Access Levels.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 23, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jennifer Aldrich, International Trade Specialists, 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 import restraint limits for textile products, produced or

manufactured in Colombia and exported during the period January 1, 1996

through December 31, 1996 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). The Special

Access Levels are being established pursuant to Memoranda of

Understanding (MOUs) dated June 27, 1995 and August 9, 1995 between the

Governments of the United States and Colombia.

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

Commissioner of Customs to establish the 1996 limits and Special Access

Levels. Sublimits are established for products which are not subject to

the terms of the Special Access Textile Program.

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).

Requirements for participation in the Special Access Program are

available in Federal Register notices 51 FR 21208, published on June

11, 1986; 52 FR 26057, published on July 10, 1987; 54 FR 50425,

published on December 6, 1989; and 60 FR 63512, published on December

11, 1995.

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 June 27, 1995 and August 9, 1995 MOUs, 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

January 11, 1996.

Commissioner of Customs,

Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.

Dear Commissioner: Under the terms of 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 23, 1996, entry into the United

States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption

of cotton, wool and man-made fiber textile products in the following

categories, produced or manufactured in Colombia and exported during

the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 1996 and extending

through December 31, 1996, in excess of the restraint limits listed

below.

Pursuant to Memoranda of Understanding dated June 27, 1995 and

August 9, 1995 between the Governments of the United States and

Colombia; and under the terms of the Special Access Textile Program,

as set forth in 51 FR 21208 (June 11, 1986), 52 FR 26057 (July 10,

1987) and 54 FR 50425 (December 6, 1989), you are directed to

establish Special Access Levels for properly certified textile

products in the following categories which are assembled in Colombia

from fabric formed and cut in the United States and re-exported in

the United States from Colombia during the twelve-month period which

begins on January 1, 1996 and extends through December 31, 1996.

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Category Twleve-month limit

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315....................................... 20,126,134 square meters.

[[Page 1359]]

352/652 (Special Access).................. 31,800,000 dozen.

352/652 (non-Special Access sublimit)..... 3,180,000 dozen.

443....................................... 124,249 numbers.

444 (Special Access....................... 205,020 numbers.

444 (non-Special Access sublimit)......... 82,008 numbers.

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Imports charged to these category limits for the periods January

1, 1995 through December 31, 1995 (Categories 315,443 and 444) and

April 1, 1995 through December 31, 1995 (Categories 352/652) shall

be charged against those levels of restraint to the extent of any

refilled balances. In the event the limits established for those

periods 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.

Any shipment for entry under the Special Access Program which is

not accompanied by a valid and correct certification and Export

Declaration in accordance with the provisions of the certification

requirements established in the directive of December 5, 1995, shall

be denied entry unless the Government of Colombia authorizes the

entry and any charges to the appropriate specific limit. Any

shipment which declared for entry under the Special Access Program

but found not to qualify shall be denied entry into the United

States.

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. 96-615 Filed 1-18-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F