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

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Man-

Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile

Products Produced or Manufactured in India

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.

[[Page 67832]]

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 import restraint limits for textile products, produced or

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

through 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 India 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.

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; and 62 FR 60826, published

on November 13, 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, man-made fiber,

silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products

in the following categories, produced or manufactured in India 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:

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

Category Twelve-month restraint limit

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

Levels in Group I

218....................................... 14,307,430 square meters.

219....................................... 66,259,880 square meters.

313....................................... 38,281,386 square meters.

314....................................... 7,888,081 square meters.

315....................................... 13,248,816 square meters.

317....................................... 40,003,022 square meters.

326....................................... 9,091,596 square meters.

334/634................................... 140,994 dozen.

335/635................................... 627,703 dozen.

336/636................................... 879,834 dozen.

338/339................................... 3,939,692 dozen.

340/640................................... 1,995,483 dozen.

341....................................... 4,228,602 dozen of which not

more than 2,537,160 dozen

shall be in Category 341-Y

\1\.

342/642................................... 1,271,100 dozen.

345....................................... 191,272 dozen.

347/348................................... 615,384 dozen.

351/651................................... 268,686 dozen.

363....................................... 44,711,478 numbers.

369-D \2\................................. 1,315,188 kilograms.

369-S \3\................................. 717,375 kilograms.

641....................................... 1,479,886 dozen.

647/648................................... 859,356 dozen.

Group II

200, 201, 220-227, 237, 239pt. \4\, 300, 112,085,570 square meters

301, 331-333, 350, 352, 359pt. \5\, 360- equivalent.

362, 600-604, 606 \6\, 607, 611-629, 631,

633, 638, 639, 643-646, 649, 650, 652,

659pt. \7\, 666, 669pt. \8\, 670, 831,

833-838, 840-858 and 859pt. \9\, as a

group.

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\1\ Category 341-Y: only HTS numbers 6204.22.3060, 6206.30.3010,

6206.30.3030 and 6211.42.0054.

\2\ Category 369-D: only HTS numbers 6302.60.0010, 6302.91.0005 and

6302.91.0045.

\3\ Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.

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

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

\6\ Category 606: all HTS numbers except 5403.31.0040 (for

administrative purposes Category 606 is designated as 606(1)).

\7\ Category 659pt.: all HTS numbers except 6406.99.1510 and

6406.99.1540.

\8\ Category 669pt.: all HTS numbers except 5601.10.2000, 5601.22.0090,

5607.49.3000, 5607.50.4000 and 6406.10.9040.

\9\ 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

directive dated December 20, 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.

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 India 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. 97-33915 Filed 12-29-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F