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

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Wool

and Man-Made Fiber Textiles and Textile Products and Silk Blend and

Other Vegetable Fiber Apparel Produced or Manufactured in Malaysia

December 22, 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: 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 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 import restraint limits for textile products, produced or

manufactured in Malaysia and exported during the period January 1, 1998

through

[[Page 67835]]

December 31, 1998 are based on limits notified to the Textiles

Monitoring Body pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and

Clothing (ATC).

Pursuant to the provisions of the ATC, the second stage of the

integration commences on January 1, 1998 (see 60 FR 21075, published on

May 1, 1995). Accordingly, certain previously restrained categories may

have been modified or eliminated and certain limits may have been

revised. Integrated products will no longer be subject to quota. CITA

has informed Malaysia of its intent to continue the bilateral visa

arrangement for those products.

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

Commissioner of Customs to establish the 1998 limits. The limits for

Categories 336/636, 338/339, 347/348, 619, 620 and 638/639 are being

reduced for carryforward applied to the 1997 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 62 FR 66057, published on December 17, 1997). Also see

62 FR 51832, published on October 3, 1997.

J. Hayden Boyd,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

December 22, 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 the Uruguay Round Agreement on

Textiles and Clothing (ATC), 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, wool and man-

made fiber textiles and textile products and silk blend and other

vegetable fiber apparel in the following categories, produced or

manufactured in Malaysia and exported during the twelve-month period

beginning on January 1, 1998 and extending through December 31,

1998, in excess of the following limits:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Category Twelve-month restraint limit

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fabric Group

218, 219, 220, 225-227, 313-315, 317, 326, 123,734,420 square meters.

611, 613/614/615/617, 619 and 620, as a

group.

Sublevels within the group

218....................................... 7,099,273 square meters.

219....................................... 34,392,033 square meters.

220....................................... 34,392,033 square meters.

225....................................... 34,392,033 square meters.

226....................................... 34,392,033 square meters.

227....................................... 34,392,033 square meters.

313....................................... 41,018,021 square meters.

314....................................... 49,347,781 square meters.

315....................................... 34,392,033 square meters.

317....................................... 34,392,033 square meters.

326....................................... 6,650,644 square meters.

611....................................... 3,990,386 square meters.

613/614/615/617........................... 39,478,226 square meters.

619....................................... 5,026,835 square meters.

620....................................... 6,283,543 square meters.

Other specific limits

200....................................... 299,373 kilograms.

237....................................... 402,804 dozen.

300/301................................... 3,175,182 kilograms.

331/631................................... 2,180,033 dozen pairs.

333/334/335/835........................... 250,005 dozen of which not

more than 150,003 dozen

shall be in Category 333

and not more than 150,003

dozen shall be in Category

835.

336/636................................... 458,595 dozen.

338/339................................... 1,136,966 dozen.

340/640................................... 1,401,716 dozen.

341/641................................... 1,816,676 dozen of which not

more than 648,100 dozen

shall be in Category 341.

342/642/842............................... 435,133 dozen.

345....................................... 166,859 dozen.

347/348................................... 481,848 dozen.

350/650................................... 156,926 dozen.

351/651................................... 270,002 dozen.

363....................................... 4,229,809 numbers.

435....................................... 15,440 dozen.

438-W \1\................................. 12,635 dozen.

442....................................... 18,815 dozen.

445/446................................... 29,866 dozen.

604....................................... 1,392,247 kilograms.

634/635................................... 847,896 dozen.

638/639................................... 471,904 dozen.

645/646................................... 382,028 dozen.

647/648................................... 1,797,782 dozen of which not

more than 1,258,445 dozen

shall be in Category 647-K

\2\ and not more than

1,258,445 dozen shall be in

Category 648-K \3\.

Group II

201, 222-224, 239pt. \4\, 332, 352, 359pt. 40,586,900 square meters

\5\, 360-362, 369pt. \6\, 400-431, 433, equivalent.

434, 436, 438-O \7\, 440, 443, 444, 447,

448, 459pt. \8\, 464, 469pt. \9\, 600-

603, 606, 607, 618, 621, 622, 624-629,

633, 643, 644, 649, 652, 659pt. \10\,

666, 669pt. \11\, 670, 831, 833, 834,

836, 838, 840, 843-858 and 859pt. \12\,

as a group.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

\1\ Category 438-W: only HTS numbers 6104.21.0060, 6104.23.0020,

6104.29.2051, 6106.20.1010, 6106.20.1020, 6106.90.1010, 6106.90.1020,

6106.90.2520, 6106.90.3020, 6109.90.1540, 6109.90.8020, 6110.10.2080,

6110.30.1560, 6110.90.9074 and 6114.10.0040.

\2\ Category 647-K: only HTS numbers 6103.23.0040, 6103.23.0045,

6103.29.1020, 6103.29.1030, 6103.43.1520, 6103.43.1540, 6103.43.1550,

6103.43.1570, 6103.49.1020, 6103.49.1060, 6103.49.8014, 6112.12.0050,

6112.19.1050, 6112.20,.1060 and 6113.00.9044.

\3\ Category 648-K: only HTS numbers 6104.23.0032, 6104.23.0034,

6104.29.1030, 6104.29.1040, 6104.29.2038, 6104.63.2006, 6104.63.2011,

6104.63.2026, 6104.63.2028, 6104.63.2030, 6104.63.2060, 6104.69.2030,

6104.69.2060, 6104.69.8026, 6112.12.0060, 6112.19.1060, 6112.20.1070,

6113.00.9052 and 6117.90.9070.

\4\ Category 239pt.: only HTS number 6209.20.5040 (diapers).

\5\ Category 359pt.: all HTS numbers except 6406.99.1550.

\6\ Category 369pt.: all HTS numbers except 5601.10.1000, 5601.21.0090,

5701.90.1020, 5701.90.2020, 5701.10.9020, 5702.39.2010, 5702.49.1020,

5702.49.1080, 5702.59.1000, 5702.99.1010, 5602.99.1090, 5705.00.2020

and 6406.10.7700.

\7\ Category 438-O: only HTS numbers 6103.21.0050, 6103.23.0025,

6105.20.1000, 6105.90.1000, 6105.90.8020, 6109.90.1520, 6110.10.2070,

6110.30.1550, 6110.90.9072, 6114.10.0020 and 6117.90.9025.

\8\ Category 459pt.: all HTS numbers except 6405.20.6030, 6405.20.6060,

6405.20.6090, 6405.99.1505 and 6406.99.1560.

\9\ Category 469pt.: all HTS numbers except 5601.29.0020, 5603.94.1010

and 6406.10.9020.

\10\ Category 659pt.: all HTS numbers except 6406.99.1510 and

6406.99.1540.

\11\ Category 669pt.: all HTS numbers except 5601.10.2000, 5601.22.0090,

5607.49.3000, 5607.50.4000 and 6406.10.9040.

[[Page 67836]]

\12\ Category 859pt.: only HTS numbers 6115.19.8040, 6117.10.6020,

6212.10.5030, 6212.10.9040, 6212.20.0030, 6212.30.0030, 6212.90.0090,

6214.10.2000 and 6214.90.0090.

The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment pursuant to

the provisions of the ATC and administrative arrangements notified

to the Textiles Monitoring Body.

Products in the above categories exported during 1997 shall be

charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see the

November 4, 1996 directive) 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.

Products for integration in 1998 listed in the Federal Register

notice published on May 1, 1995 (60 FR 21075) which are exported

during 1997 shall be charged to the applicable limits to the extent

of any unfilled balances. After January 1, 1998, should those

unfilled balances be exhausted, such products shall no longer be

charged to any limit, due to integration of these products into GATT

1994.

CITA has informed Malaysia of its intent to continue the

bilateral visa arrangement for those products. An export visa will

continue to be required, if applicable, for products integrated on

and after January 1, 1998, before entry is permitted into the United

States.

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,

J. Hayden Boyd,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements.

[FR Doc. 97-33913 Filed 12-29-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F