Amendment of Visa Requirements for Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in the Republic of Turkey

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Amendment of Visa Requirements for Certain Cotton and Man-Made

Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in the Republic of

Turkey

July 29, 1998.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs amending

visa requirements.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: August 10, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roy Unger, International Trade

Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of

Commerce, (202) 482-4212.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1862, as

amended.

Effective on August 10, 1998, the existing export visa arrangement

between the Governments of the United States and Turkey is being

amended to include the coverage of textile products in Categories 352,

652 and merged Categories 352/652, produced or manufactured in Turkey

and exported from Turkey on and after August 10, 1998. As a result, an

export visa will be required for such products. Merchandise in merged

Categories 352/652 may be accompanied by either the appropriate merged

category visa or the correct category visa corresponding to the actual

shipment. There will be a grace period from August 10, 1998 through

September 8, 1998 during which products exported from Turkey in

Categories 352, 652 and 352/652 shall not be denied entry for lack of a

visa.

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

52 FR 6859, published on March 5, 1987.

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

July 29, 1998.

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 March 2, 1987, as amended, by the

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

That directive concerns export visa requirements for certain cotton

and man-made fiber textile products, produced or manufactured in

Turkey for which the Government of Turkey has not issued an

appropriate export visa.

Effective on August 10, 1998, you are directed to require a visa

for products in Categories 352 and 652, produced or manufactured in

Turkey and exported from Turkey on and after August 10, 1998.

Merchandise in Categories 352 and 652 may be visaed as merged

Categories 352/652 or the correct category corresponding to the

actual shipment. There will be a grace period from August 10, 1998

through September 8, 1998 during which products exported from Turkey

in Categories 352, 652 and 352/652 shall not be denied entry for

lack of a visa.

Shipments entered or withdrawn from warehouse according to this

directive which are not accompanied by an appropriate export visa

shall be denied entry and a new visa must be obtained.

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has

determined that these actions fall within the foreign affairs

exception to 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. 98-20736 Filed 8-3-98; 8:45 am]

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