Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Nepal

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton and

Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Nepal

November 6, 1997.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing

limits.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1998.

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 the quota status of these

limits, 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: Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as

amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as

amended.

The Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected by exchange of notes

dated May 30 and June 1, 1986, as amended and extended, and Memoranda

of Understanding (MOUs) dated November 6, 1996 and June 20, 1997,

between the Governments of the United States and Nepal establish limits

for the period January 1, 1998 through December 31, 1998.

These limits may be revised if Nepal becomes a member of the World

Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO

agreement to Nepal.

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

Commissioner of Customs to establish the 1998 limits.

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).

Information regarding the 1998 CORRELATION will be published in the

Federal Register at a later date.

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: Pursuant to section 204 of the Agricultural

Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); Executive Order 11651 of

March 3, 1972, as amended; the Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected

by exchange of notes dated May 30 and June 1, 1986, as amended and

extended; and Memoranda of Understanding dated November 6, 1996 and

June 20, 1997 between the Governments of the United States and

Nepal, you are directed to prohibit, effective on January 1, 1998,

entry into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from

warehouse for consumption of cotton and man-made fiber textile

products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in

Nepal and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on

January 1, 1998 and extending through December 31, 1998, in excess

of the following levels of restraint:

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Category Twelve-month restraint limit

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336/636................................... 234,214 dozen.

340....................................... 338,279 dozen.

341....................................... 1,086,589 dozen.

342/642................................... 295,242 dozen.

347/348................................... 761,956 dozen.

363....................................... 6,890,000 numbers.

369-S \1\................................. 927,000 kilograms.

640....................................... 170,254 dozen.

641....................................... 383,880 dozen.

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\1\ Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.

The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment pursuant to

the provisions of the current bilateral agreement between the

Governments of the United States and Nepal.

Products in the above categories exported during 1997 shall be

charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see

directive dated December 5, 1996) to the extent of any unfilled

balances. In the event the limits established for that period have

been exhausted by previous entries, such products shall be charged

to the limits set forth in this directive.

These limits may be revised if Nepal becomes a member of the

World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO

agreement to Nepal.

In carrying out the above directions, the Commissioner of

Customs should construe entry into the United States for consumption

to include entry for consumption into the Commonwealth of Puerto

Rico.

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has

determined that these actions fall 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. 97-29874 Filed 11-12-97; 8:45 am]

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