Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations with the Government of El Salvador on Cotton and Man-Made Skirts

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations

with the Government of El Salvador on Cotton and Man-Made Skirts

April 11, 1996.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Aldrich, International Trade

Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of

Commerce, (202) 482-4212. For information on categories for which

consultations have been requested, call (202) 482-3740.

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).

On March 29, 1996, under the terms of Article 6 of the Uruguay

Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) and the Uruguay Round

Agreements Act, the Government of the United States requested

consultations with the Government of El Salvador with respect to cotton

and man-made fiber skirts in Categories 342/642, produced or

manufactured in El Salvador.

The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no

solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of El

Salvador, the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

may later establish a limit for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse

for consumption of cotton and man-made fiber textile products in

Categories 342/642, produced or manufactured in El Salvador and

exported during the twelve-month period which began on March 29, 1996

and extends through March 28, 1997, at a level of not less than 209,563

dozen.

A summary statement of serious damage concerning Categories 342/642

follows this notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

the treatment of Categories 342/642, or to comment on domestic

production or availability of products included in Categories 342/642,

is invited to submit 10 copies of such comments or information to Troy

H. Cribb, Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; ATTN:

Helen L. LeGrande. The comments received will be considered in the

context of the consultations with the Government of El Salvador.

Because the exact timing of the consultations is not yet certain,

comments should be submitted promptly. Comments or information

submitted in response to this notice will be available for public

inspection in the Office of Textiles and Apparel, room H3100, U.S.

Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,

DC.

Further comments may be invited regarding particular comments or

information received from the public which the Committee for the

Implementation of Textile Agreements considers appropriate for further

consideration.

The solicitation of comments regarding any aspect of the agreement

or the implementation thereof is not a waiver in any respect of the

exemption contained in 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1) relating to matters which

constitute ``a foreign affairs function of the United States.''

The United States remains committed to finding a solution

concerning Categories 342/642. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government of El Salvador, further notice will

be published in the Federal Register.

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

[[Page 16763]]

Federal Register notice 60 FR 65299, published on December 19, 1995).

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Summary Statement of Serious Damage--El Salvador

Cotton and Manmade Fiber Skirts--Category 342/642

March 1996

The sharp and substantial increase in imports of cotton and manmade

fiber skirts, Category 342/642, is causing serious damage or actual

threat thereof to the U.S. industry producing cotton and manmade fiber

skirts.

U.S. imports of Category 342/642 from all sources increased from

6,884,065 dozen in 1992 to 7,660,844 dozen in 1994, an increase of 11

percent. Category 342/642 imports continued to increase in 1995,

reaching 9,247,612 dozen, 21 percent above the 1994 level.

Serious damage or actual threat thereof to the domestic industry

producing cotton and manmade fiber skirts, Category 342/642, is

attributed to a sharp and substantial increase in imports from El

Salvador. The combination of high import levels, surging imports, and

low priced goods from El Salvador has resulted in loss of domestic

output, market share, employment, and man-hours worked.

U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber skirts, Category 342/642,

from El Salvador reached 209,563 dozen in 1995, a sharp and substantial

increase of 92 percent above the 1994 level. Imports from El Salvador

of Category 342/642 were 109,070 dozen in 1994, 41 percent above the

77,220 dozen imported in 1993 and 29 percent above its 1992 level. 1995

imports from El Salvador were 2.3 percent of total U.S. imports in 1995

and 3.4 percent of U.S. production in the year-ending September 1995.

[FR Doc. 96-9480 Filed 4-16-96; 8:45 am]

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