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 Thailand

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 Thailand

November 6, 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: January 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross Arnold, 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); Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

In exchange of notes, the Governments of the United States and

Thailand agreed to amend the existing visa arrangement for textile

products, produced or manufactured in Thailand and exported on and

after January 1, 1998. The amended arrangement consolidates existing

and new provisions of the export visa arrangement, including 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 Thailand. Goods which currently require an

exempt certificate shall not require an ELVIS transmission, but will

continue to require the exempt certificate.

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 Thailand and exported on

and after January 1, 1998.

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

42 Fr 5994, published on February 1, 1977; and 57 FR 2713, published on

January 23, 1992.

Interested persons are advised to take all necessary steps to

ensure that textile products that are 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

November 6, 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 January 16, 1992, 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 Thailand for which the

Government of Thailand has not issued an appropriate export visa or

exempt certification.

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

as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); and pursuant to the Uruguay Round

Agreements Act, the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing

(ATC) and the Export Visa Arrangement, effected by exchange of notes

between the Governments of the United States and Thailand; and in

accordance with the provisions of Executive Order 11651 of March 3,

1972, as amended, you are directed to prohibit, effective on January

1, 1998, 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 (see Annex A), produced or manufactured in

Thailand and exported on and after January 1, 1998 for which the

Government of Thailand has not issued an appropriate export visa and

Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS) transmission or exempt

certification fully described below. Should additional categories,

part categories or merged categories become subject to import quota

the entire category(s), part category(s) or merged category(s) shall

be included in the coverage of this arrangement.

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 commercial invoice or

its successor document. The original visa shall not be

[[Page 60830]]

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 Thailand is ``TH''), and a six

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

8TH123456. Typewritten letters and numbers may be used in the visa

seal instead of handwritten letters and numbers.

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

month and year on which the visa was issued, which could be the year

after the actual date the merchandise leaves the country of

exportation. However, the date of export and the year of the visa

must agree. For example, if the date of export is 1997, the visa

number must begin with ``7TH,'' even though the date of issuance is

1998.

3. The original signature of the issuing official of the Royal

Thai Government.

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

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

the unit(s) of quantity provided for in the bilateral agreement

shall be reported in the spaces provided within the visa stamp

(e.g., ``Cat. 434-210 DZ'').

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 359-H/659-H may be visaed as 359-H/659-H or if

the shipment consists solely of Category 359-H merchandise, the

shipment may be visaed as ``Category 359-H,'' but not as ``Category

659-H''). If, however, a merged quota category such as 625/626/627/

628/629 has a quota sublimit on Category 625, then there must be a

``Cat. 625'' visa for the shipment if it includes Category 625.

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 or

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 Government of Thailand or a visa waiver may be issued by

the U.S. Department of Commerce at the request of the Embassy of

Thailand in Washington, DC., 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. 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, but will provide

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 Thailand 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 waiver is provided.

ELVIS Requirements:

An ELVIS transmission as well as an export visa is required for

each non-exempt entry subject to this directive.

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 Thailand is ``TH''), and a six

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

8TH123456.

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

month and year on which the visa was issued, which could be the year

after the actual date the merchandise leaves the country of

exportation. However, the date of export and the year of the visa

number must agree. For example, if the date of export is 1997, the

visa number must begin with ``7TH,'' even though the date of

issuance is 1998.

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 quantity of the shipment in the correct units of

quantity.

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

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

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

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

followed by three letters from the city name. However, due to the

absence of an official English language address conversion in

Thailand, the Government of Thailand shall provide the most accurate

MID number possible to the U.S. Customs Service. The U.S. Government

understands and acknowledges that the MID number is highly sensitive

and should be kept confidential for official use only. The MID

number is not to be released to third parties without prior written

consent by the Government of Thailand.

B. Entry of a shipment shall not be permitted:

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

shipment from Thailand;

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

of the following:

a. visa number

b. category, part category or merged 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, part category or merged category

c. unit of measure

d. manufacturer ID number

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

transmitted.

V. if the visa number has previously been used, or canceled,

except in the case of a split shipment or if any entry has already

been made using the visa number.

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 mentioned in paragraph B.I-V will be released.

D. Visa waivers will only be considered for circumstances

described in paragraph B.I, if the shipment qualifies as a one time

special purpose shipment that is not part of an ongoing commercial

enterprise or for legitimate classification disputes.

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.

If a shipment from Thailand has been 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, and if the Government of

Thailand does not issue a visa or ELVIS transmission or request a

visa waiver (if applicable), the shipment will be charged to the

correct category limit whether or not a replacement visa or visa

waiver is provided or a new ELVIS tansmission is transmitted.

Exempt certification requirements:

A. The exempt certification system established in a directive

dated January 26, 1977, as amended, which exempts handmade cottage

industry products of handloomed fabric, and an agreed list of Thai

traditional folklore products, shall be continued unchanged, except

for the following:

1. The exemption for all items valued at U.S.$250 or less shall

not be continued.

2. Handloomed fabrics produced in Thailand may be certified as

exempt.

3. The exemption for handknotted/tufted carpets shall be

clarified to be for ``handmade carpets,'' (i.e., carpets in which

the pile was inserted/knotted by hand in HTS numbers 5701.10.1600

(Category 465), 5701.10.4000 (Category 465), 5702.42.2020 (Category

665), 5702.49.1020 (Category 369); and 5703.20.1000 (Category 665)).

B. Textiles and textile articles provided for in the exempt

certification system ae exempt

[[Page 60831]]

from the levels of restraint (quotas), and visa and ELVIS

requirements if they are properly certified, prior to the shipment

leaving Thailand.

Other Provisions:

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 ELVIS transmission for entry and shall not be charged to

agreement levels.

Any shipment which is not accompanied by a valid and correct

visa with an ELVIS transmission or exempt certification in

accordance with the foregoing provisions shall be denied entry by

the Government of the United States unless the Government of

Thailand authorizes the entry and any charges to the agreement

levels.

The actions taken concerning the Government of Thailand 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 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.

Annex A

Part Categories (Descriptions below are for general reference only.)

301-P Chief weight cotton combed yarn,

less than 85 percent cotton: only

HTS numbers 5206.21.0000,

5206.22.0000, 5206.23.0000,

5206.24.0000, 5206.25.0000,

5206.41.0000, 5206.42.0000,

5206.43.0000, 5206.44.0000 and

5206.45.0000.

301-O Chief weight cotton combed yarn,

85 percent or more cotton: only

HTS numbers 5205.21.0020,

5205.21.0090, 5205.22.0020,

5205.22.0090, 5205.23.0020,

5205.23.0090, 5205.24.0020,

5205.24.0090, 5205.26.0020,

5205.26.0090, 5205.27.0020,

5205.27.0090, 5205.28.0020,

5205.28.0090, 5205.41.0020,

5205.41.0090, 5205.42.0020,

5205.42.0090, 5205.43.0020,

5205.43.0090, 5205.44.0020,

5205.44.0090, 5205.46.0020,

5205.46.0090, 5205.47.0020,

5205.47.0090, 5205.48.0020 and

5205.48.0090.

359-H Cotton headwear: only HTS numbers

6505.90.1540 and 6505.90.2060.

359-O Other cotton apparel, not

elsewhere specified: all HTS

numbers except those in Category

359-H.

369-D Cotton dish towels: only HTS

numbers 6302.60.0010,

6302.91.0005 and 6302.91.0045.

369-S Cotton shop towels: only HTS

number 6307.10.2005.

369-O Other cotton made-ups, not

elsewhere specified: all HTS

numbers except those in Category

369-D and Category 369-S.

604-A Piled acrylic spun yarn: only HTS

number 5509.32.0000.

604-O Other staple fiber yarn, 85

percent or more synthetic: all

HTS numbers except those in

Category 604-A.

659-H Man-made fiber headwear: only HTS

numbers 6502.00.9030,

6504.00.9015, 6504.00.9060,

6505.90.5090, 6505.90.6090,

6505.90.7090 and 6505.90.8090.

659-O Other man-made fiber apparel, not

elsewhere specified: all HTS

numbers except those in Category

659-H.

669-P Man-made fiber bags: only HTS

numbers 6305.32.0010,

6305.32.0020, 6305.33.0010,

6305.33.0020 and 6305.39.0000.

669-O Other man-made fiber manufactures,

NSPF: all HTS numbers except

those in Category 669-P.

Merged Categories and Subcategories

317/326

331/631

334/634

335/635/835

336/636

338/339

341/641

342/642

347/348/847

351/651

359-H/659-H

613/614/615 (Subcategories 614 and 613/615)

625/626/627/628/629 (Subcategory 625)

638/639

645/646

647/648

[FR Doc. 97-29780 Filed 11-12-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F