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

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Man-

Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textile Products

Produced or Manufactured in Oman

January 16, 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 23, 1996.

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 Governments of the United States and the Sultanate of Oman

agreed to extend their Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected by

exchange of notes dated December 13, 1993 and January 15, 1994, as

amended, for two consecutive one-year periods, beginning on January 1,

1996 and extending through December 31, 1997.

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

Commissioner of Customs to establish limits for the 1996 period.

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).

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, but are designed to assist only in the

implementation of certain of its provisions.

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

January 16, 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); pursuant to

the Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected by exchange of notes dated

December 13, 1993 and January 15, 1994, as amended and extended,

between the Governments of the United States and the Sultanate of

Oman; 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,

man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textile

products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in

Oman and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on

January 1, 1996 and extending through December 31, 1996, in excess

of the following levels of restraint:

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Category Twelve-month restraint limit

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334/634................................... 150,000 dozen.

335/635................................... 224,720 dozen.

338/339................................... 466,294 dozen.

340/640................................... 224,720 dozen.

341/641................................... 168,540 dozen.

347/348................................... 803,374 dozen.

647/648/847............................... 344,500 dozen.

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Imports charged to these category limits for the period January

1, 1995 through December 31, 1995, 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 current bilateral agreement

between the Governments of the United States and Sultanate of Oman.

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.96-618 Filed 1-18-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F