Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Consultations with the Government of Nepal

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Consultations with the

Government of Nepal

May 8, 1997.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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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 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 April 23, 1997, under Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of

1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854), the Government of the United States

requested consultations with the Government of Nepal with respect to

cotton terry and other pile towels in Category 363, produced or

manufactured in Nepal.

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

solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of Nepal,

the Government of the United States may later establish a limit for the

entry and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton textile

products in Category 363, produced or manufactured in Nepal and

exported during the twelve-month period which began on April 23, 1997

and extends through April 22, 1998, at a level of not less than

4,089,480 numbers.

A statement of serious damage, actual threat of serious damage or

the exacerbation of serious damage concerning Category 363 follows this

notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

the treatment of Category 363 or to comment on domestic production or

availability of products included in Category 363 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 Nepal.

[[Page 26479]]

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 Category 363. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government of Nepal, 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 61 FR 66263, published on December 17, 1996).

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Summary of the Statement in Support of Request for Consultations Under

Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956

Cotton Terry and Other Pile Towels--Category 363

April 1997

U.S. imports of cotton terry and other pile towels, Category 363,

from Nepal surged to 4,089,480 units in year ending January 1997, 177

percent above the 1,477,450 units imported in year ending January 1996

and more than 30 times the 123,720 units imported in 1994. Imports from

Nepal were 2.0 percent of total U.S. imports of Category 363 in the

year ending January 1997, and were equivalent to nearly one percent of

U.S. production of Category 363 in 1996.

U.S. imports of cotton terry and other pile towels, Category 363

from Nepal, entered the U.S. at an average landed duty-paid value of

$0.43 per unit during 1996, 71 percent below the average landed duty-

paid value for all cotton terry and other pile towel imports into the

U.S., and 72 percent below the average U.S. producers' price for cotton

terry and other pile towels.

The sharp increase of low-valued Category 363 imports from Nepal

threatens to cause disruption to the U.S. cotton terry and other pile

towel market and to the orderly flow of trade in these products. In

several instances, Nepal's import level for year ending January 1997

exceeds the trade levels of WTO countries that have quota agreements

with the United States.

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

U.S. production of cotton pile and other terry towels, Category

363, declined in 1996 falling to an estimated 498,141,000 units, 6

percent below the 1995 production level and 5 percent below the 1994

level. In contrast, imports of Category 363 increased to 208,807,000

units in year ending January 1997, 10 percent above the same period a

year earlier and 13 percent above the 1994 level.

The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 35

percent in 1994 to 41 percent in 1996. Imports' share of the U.S.

market for cotton pile and other terry towels increased from 27 percent

in 1994 and 1995 to 30 percent in 1996.

[FR Doc. 97-12677 Filed 5-13-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F