Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations with the Government of the Ukraine on Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations

with the Government of the Ukraine on Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber

Textile Products

April 15, 1996.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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

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 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, in accordance with Section 204 of the

Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended, the Government of the United

States requested consultations with the Government of the Ukraine with

respect to cotton and man-made fiber woven shirts in Categories 340/

640, produced or manufactured in the Ukraine.

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

solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of the

Ukraine, the

[[Page 17280]]

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements may later

establish a limit for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse for

consumption of man-made fiber textile products in Categories 340/640,

produced or manufactured in the Ukraine 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 406,469 dozen.

A statement of serious damage concerning Categories 340/640 follows

this notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

the treatment of Categories 340/640, or to comment on domestic

production or availability of products included in Categories 340/640,

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 the Ukraine.

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

implementation of an agreement 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 340/640. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government of the Ukraine, 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 Federal

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

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Statement of Serious Damage--Ukraine

Cotton and Manmade Fiber Men's and Boys' Woven Shirts--Category 340/640

March 1996

Import Situation and Conclusion

U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber men's and boys' woven

shirts, Category 340/640, from the Ukraine reached 406,469 dozen in

1995, more than double the 185,803 dozen imported in 1994. Imports from

the Ukraine were 1.1 percent of total U.S. imports of Category 340/640

in 1995, and were equivalent to 3.1 percent of U.S. production of

Category 340/640 for the year-ending September 1995.

U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber men's and boys' woven

shirts, Category 340/640, from the Ukraine entered the U.S. at an

average landed duty-paid value of $60.62 per dozen in 1995, 58 percent

below the average U.S. producers' price for cotton and manmade fiber

men's and boys' woven shirts.

The sharp and substantial increase of low-valued Category 340/640

imports from the Ukraine is causing serious damage to the U.S. industry

producing cotton and manmade fiber men's and boys' woven shirts.

U.S. Production, Import Penetration, and Market Share

U.S. production of cotton and manmade fiber men's and boys' woven

shirts, Category 340/640, fell from 13,880,000 dozen in 1992 to

13,292,000 dozen in 1993, a decline of 4 percent. Domestic production

increased by 2 percent in 1994 to 13,589,000 dozen but remained 2

percent below the 1992 level. Domestic production of cotton and manmade

fiber men's and boys' woven shirts declined in 1995, falling to

9,459,000 dozen in the first nine months of 1995, 5 percent below the

January-September 1994 level. The year-ending September 1995 production

level at 13,096,000 dozen was 4 percent below the calendar year 1994

level and 6 percent below the 1992 level. In contrast, imports of

Category 340/640 increased every year since 1992, rising from

30,395,000 dozen in 1992 to 35,908,000 dozen in 1995, 18 percent above

the 1992 level.

The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 219

percent in 1992 to 242 percent in 1994 and reached 295 percent in the

first nine months of 1995. The share of the U.S. market for cotton and

manmade fiber men's and boys' woven shirts held by domestic

manufacturers fell from 27 percent in 1992 to 22 percent in 1994, and

to 18 percent during January-September 1995.

[FR Doc. 96-9619 Filed 4-18-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F