Establishment of an Import Limit for Certain Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Thailand

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Establishment of an Import Limit for Certain Man-Made Fiber

Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Thailand

November 3, 1997.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing

a limit.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: November 12, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross Arnold, International Trade

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

Commerce, (202) 482-4212. For information on the quota status of this

limit, 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); Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

In a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated October 28, 1997, the

Governments of the United States and Thailand agreed, pursuant to

Article 6 of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Textiles and

Clothing (ATC), to establish limits for Category 603, produced or

manufactured in Thailand and exported during the periods October 1,

1997 through December 31, 1997; January 1, 1998 through December 31,

1998; January 1, 1999 through December 31, 1999; and January 1, 2000

through September 30, 2000.

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

Commissioner of Customs to establish a limit for Category 603 for the

period October 1, 1997 through December 31, 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 61 FR 66263, published on December 17, 1996). Also see

61 FR 58044, published on November 12, 1996; and 62 FR 49207, published

on September 19, 1997.

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 Uruguay Round Agreements Act, the Uruguay Round Agreement on

Textiles and Clothing and the MOU, but are designed to assist only in

the implementation of certain of their provisions.

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

November 3, 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 November 4, 1996, by the

[[Page 60236]]

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements. That

directive concerns imports of certain cotton, wool, man-made fiber,

silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products,

produced or manufactured in Thailand and exported during the twelve-

month period beginning on January 1, 1997 and extending through

December 31, 1997.

Effective on November 12, 1997, you are directed to establish a

limit for textile products in Category 603 at a level of 550,000

kilograms \1\ for the period October 1, 1997 through December 31,

1997, pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, the Uruguay

Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) and a Memorandum of

Understanding dated October 28, 1997 between the Governments of the

United States and Thailand.

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\1\ The limit has not been adjusted to account for any imports

exported after September 30, 1997.

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Textile products in Category 603 which have been exported to the

United States prior to October 1, 1997 shall not be subject to this

directive.

Textile products in Category 603 which have been released from

the custody of the U.S. Customs Service under the provisions of 19

U.S.C. 1448(b) or 1484(a)(1) prior to the effective date of this

directive shall not be denied entry under this directive.

Import charges for Category 603 will be provided as data become

available.

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has

determined that this action falls within the foreign affairs

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

Sincerely,

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

[FR Doc. 97-29465 Filed 11-6-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F