Consolidation and Amendment of Export Visa Requirements to Include the Electronic Visa Information System for Certain Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Indonesia

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Consolidation and Amendment of Export Visa Requirements to

Include the Electronic Visa Information System for Certain Cotton,

Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and

Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Indonesia

July 7, 1997.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs

consolidating and amending visa requirements.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: August 1, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janet Heinzen, International Trade

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

Commerce, (202) 482-4212.

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).

In exchange of notes dated May 23, 1997 and June 23, 1997, the

Governments of the United States and Indonesia agreed to amend the

existing visa arrangement for cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend

and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products, produced or

manufactured in Indonesia and exported on and after August 1, 1997. The

amended arrangement consolidates existing provisions and new provisions

for the Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS). In addition to the

ELVIS requirements, shipments will continue to be accompanied by an

original visa stamped on the front of the original commercial invoice

issued by the Government of Indonesia.

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

Commissioner of Customs to amend the existing visa requirements for

textile products, produced or manufactured in Indonesia and exported on

and after August 1, 1997.

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 62 FR 66263, published on December 17, 1996). Also see

52 FR 20134, published on May 29, 1987.

Interested persons are advised to take all necessary steps to

ensure that textile products entered into the United States for

consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will meet the

visa requirements set forth in the letter published below to the

Commissioner of Customs.

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

July 7, 1997.

Commissioner of Customs,

Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.

Dear Commissioner: This directive amends, but does not cancel,

the directive issued to you on May 19, 1987, as amended, by the

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements,

that directed you to prohibit entry of certain cotton, wool, man-

made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and

textile products, produced or manufactured in Indonesia for which

the Government of Indonesia has not issued an appropriate export

visa.

Under the terms of section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956,

as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); pursuant to a the Export Visa

Arrangement, effected by exchange of notes dated May 23, 1997 and

June 23, 1997, between the Governments of the United States and

Indonesia; and in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order

11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, you are directed to prohibit,

effective on August 1, 1997, entry into the Customs territory of the

United States (i.e., the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) for consumption and withdrawal from

warehouse for consumption of cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk

blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products in

Categories 200-239, 300-369, 400-469, 600-670 and 800-899, including

part categories and merged categories; but not Categories 353/354

and 653/654, produced or manufactured in Indonesia and exported on

and after August 1, 1997 for which the Government of Indonesia has

not issued an appropriate export visa and Electronic Visa

Information System (ELVIS) transmission

[[Page 37203]]

fully described below. Should additional categories, part categories

or merged categories be added to or changed from those subject to

import quotas under the Bilateral Agreement and notified in

accordance with the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and

Clothing, the entire category or categories shall be automatically

included in the coverage of the Visa Arrangement. Merchandise

exported on or after the date the category is added to, or changed

in, the Agreement, or becomes subject to import quotas, shall

require a visa and ELVIS transmission.

A visa must accompany each commercial shipment of the

aforementioned textile products. A circular stamped marking in blue

ink will appear on the front of the original textile export

commercial invoice. The original visa shall not be stamped on

duplicate copies of the invoice. The original invoice with the

original visa stamp will be required to enter the shipment into the

United States. Duplicates of the invoice and/or visa may not be used

for this purpose.

Each visa stamp shall include the following information:

1. The visa number. The visa number shall be in the standard

nine digit letter format, beginning with one numeric digit for the

last digit of the year of export, followed by the two character

alpha country code specified by the International Organization for

Standardization (ISO) (the code for Indonesia is ``ID''), and a six

digit numeric serial number identifying the shipment; e.g.,

7ID123456.

2. The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day,

month and year on which the visa was issued.

3. The original signature of the issuing official of the

Government of Indonesia.

4. The correct category(s), merged category(s), part

category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity in the shipment as

set forth in the U.S. Department of Commerce Correlation and in the

Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA)

shall be reported in the spaces provided within the visa stamp

(e.g., ``Cat. 340-510 DOZ''; ``Cat. 369-S510KG''; ``Cat. 331/631-

510DPR''; ``Cat.317/617/326-510M2''; ``Cat.443-510NO'').

Quantities must be stated in whole numbers. Decimals or

fractions will not be accepted. Merged category quota merchandise

may be accompanied by either the appropriate merged category visa or

the correct category visa corresponding to the actual shipment

(e.g., quota Category 347/348 may be visaed as ``Category 347/348''

or if the shipment consists solely of Category 347 merchandise, the

shipment may be visaed as ``Category 347,'' but not as ``Category

348'').

U.S. Customs shall not permit entry if the shipment does not

have a visa, or if the visa number, date of issuance, signature,

category, quantity or units of quantity are missing, incorrect,

illegible, or have been crossed out or altered in any way. If the

quantity indicated on the visa is less than that of the shipment,

entry shall not be permitted. If the quantity indicated on the visa

is more than that of the shipment, entry shall be permitted and only

the amount entered shall be charged to any applicable quota.

If the visa is not acceptable then a new visa must be obtained

from the Indonesian Government or a visa waiver issued by the U.S.

Department of Commerce at the request of the Indonesian Government

and presented to the U.S. Customs Service before any portion of the

shipment will be released. The waiver, if used, only waives the

requirement to present a visa with the shipment. It does not waive

the quota requirement. Visa waivers will only be issued for

classification purposes or for one time special purpose shipments

that are not part of an ongoing commercial enterprise.

If the visaed invoice is deficient, the U.S. Customs Service

will not return the original document after entry or attempted

entry, but will provide the importer a certified copy of that visaed

invoice for use in obtaining a new correct original visaed invoice

or a visa waiver.

If a shipment from Indonesia has been allowed entry into the

commerce of the United States with either an incorrect visa or no

visa, and redelivery is requested but cannot be made, the shipment

will be charged to the correct category limit whether or not a

replacement visa or visa waiver is provided.

ELVIS Requirements:

A. Each ELVIS message will include the following information:

i. The visa number. The visa number shall be in the standard

nine digit letter format, beginning with one numeric digit for the

last digit of the year of export, followed by the two character

alpha country code specified by the International Organization for

Standardization (ISO) (the code for Indonesia is ``ID''), and a six

digit numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g.,

7ID123456.

ii. The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day,

month and year on which the visa was issued.

iii. The correct category(s), merged category(s), part

category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity in the shipment as

set forth in the U.S. Department of Commerce Correlation and in the

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, Annotated, or

successor documents.

iv. The manufacturer ID number (MID). The MID shall begin with

``ID,'' followed by the first three characters from each of the

first two words of the name of the manufacturers, followed by the

largest number on the address line up to the first four digits,

followed by three letters from the city name.

B. Entry of a shipment shall not be permitted:

i. if an ELVIS transmission has not been received for the

shipment from Indonesia;

ii. if the ELVIS transmission for that shipment is missing any

of the following:

a. visa number

b. category or part category

c. quantity

d. unit of measure

e. date of issuance

f. manufacturer ID number;

iii. if the ELVIS transmission for the shipment does not match

the information supplied by the importer, or the Customs broker

acting as an agent on behalf of the importer, with regard to any of

the following:

a. visa number

b. category or part category

c. unit of measure;

iv. if the quantity being entered is greater than the quantity

transmitted; or,

v. if the visa number has previously been used, except in the

case of a split shipment.

C. A new, correct ELVIS transmission from the country of origin

is required before a shipment that has been denied entry for one of

the circumstances in B.i-v will be released.

D. A new, correct ELVIS transmission from the country of origin

is required for entries made using a visa waiver under the procedure

described above. Visa waivers will only be considered for

classification purposes or for one time special purpose shipments

that are not part of an ongoing commercial enterprise.

E. Shipments will not be released for forty-eight hours in the

event of a system failure. If system failure exceeds forty-eight

hours, for the remaining period of the system failure the U.S.

Customs Service will release shipments on the basis of the paper

visaed document.

F. If a shipment from Indonesia is allowed entry into the

commerce of the United States with an incorrect visa, no visa, an

incorrect ELVIS transmission, or no ELVIS transmission, and

redelivery is requested but cannot be made, the shipment will be

charged to the correct category limit whether or not a replacement

visa or waiver is provided or a new ELVIS message is transmitted.

G. The Indonesian Government authorities may request a report

containing information on visa utilization from the U.S. Customs

Service as frequently as needed. This report will contain:

a. visa number

b. category number

c. quantity charged to quota

d. unit of measure

e. entry number

f. entry line number.

Shipments Not Requiring Visas:

Merchandise imported for the personal use of the importer and

not for resale, regardless of value, and properly marked commercial

sample shipments valued at U.S. $250 or less do not require a visa

or an ELVIS transmission for entry and shall not be charged to

Agreement levels.

Other Provisions:

Except as provided in the paragraph above, any shipment which

requires a visa but which is not accompanied by a valid and correct

visa and ELVIS transmission in accordance with the foregoing

provisions, shall be denied entry by the Government of the United

States of America unless the Government of Indonesia authorizes the

entry and any charges to the Agreement levels.

The visa stamp remains unchanged.

The actions taken concerning the Government of Indonesia with

respect to imports of textiles and textile products in the foregoing

categories have been determined by the Committee for the

Implementation of Textile Agreements to involve foreign affairs

functions of the United States. Therefore, these directions to the

Commissioner of Customs, which are necessary for the

[[Page 37204]]

implementation of such actions, fall within the foreign affairs

exception to the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1). This

letter will be published in the Federal Register.

Sincerely,

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

[FR Doc. 97-18207 Filed 7-10-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F