Adjustment of an Import Limit for Certain Wool Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in the United Mexican States

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Adjustment of an Import Limit for Certain Wool Textile Products

Produced or Manufactured in the United Mexican States

August 4, 1998.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs increasing a

limit.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: August 12, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roy Unger, International Trade

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

Commerce, (202) 482-4212. For information on the quota status of this

limit, 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 current limit for Category 443 is being increased for swing.

The restrictions and consultation levels in the December 22, 1997

directive to the Commissioner of Customs do not apply to NAFTA (North

American Free Trade Agreement) originating goods, as defined in Annex

300-B, Chapter 4 and Annex 401 of the agreement.

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 67836, published on December 30, 1997.

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

August 4, 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 December 22, 1997, by the Chairman,

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements. That

directive concerns imports of certain cotton, wool, and man-made

fiber textile products, produced or manufactured in Mexico and

exported during the twelve-month period which began on January 1,

1998 and extends through December 31, 1998. The levels established

in that directive do not apply to NAFTA (North American Free Trade

Agreement) originating goods, as defined in Annex 300-B, Chapter 4

and Annex 401 of NAFTA or to goods assembled in Mexico from fabrics

wholly formed and cut in the United States and exported from and re-

imported into the United States under U.S. tariff item 9802.00.90.

Effective on August 12, 1998, you are directed to increase the

limit for Category 443 to 186,008 numbers \1\, pursuant to the

provisions of NAFTA.

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\1\ The limit has not been adjusted to account for any imports

exported after December 31, 1997.

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The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has

determined that this action falls 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. 98-21376 Filed 8-10-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F