Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Man- Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Oman

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATIONS OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Man-

Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textile Products

Produced or Manufactured in Oman

December 19, 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.

In a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated October 17, 1997, the

Governments of the United States and the Sultanate of Oman agreed to

amend and extend the current bilateral agreement for three consecutive

one-year periods, beginning on January 1, 1998 and extending through

December 31, 2000.

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

Commissioner of Customs to establish limits for the period January 1,

1998 through December 31, 1998.

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

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

agreement to Oman.

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

December 19, 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; and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

dated October 17, 1997 between the Governments of the United States

and the Sultanate of Oman; 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, man-made fiber,

silk blend and other vegetable fiber textile products in the

following categories, produced or manufactured in Oman 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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334/634................................... 150,000 dozen.

335/635................................... 252,495 dozen.

338/339................................... 523,928 dozen.

340/640................................... 252,495 dozen.

341/641................................... 189,371 dozen.

347/348................................... 902,671 dozen.

647/648/847............................... 387,080 dozen.

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The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment pursuant to

the current bilateral agreement between the Governments of the

United States and the Sultanate of Oman.

Products in the above categories exported during 1997 shall be

charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see

directive dated November 7, 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 Oman becomes a member of the

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

agreement to Oman.

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. 97-33699 Filed 12-24-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F