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

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Wool,

Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and

Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Sri Lanka

September 30, 1998.

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, 1999.

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 these

limits, refer to the Quota Status Reports posted on the bulletin boards

of each Customs port, call (202) 927-5850, or refer to the U.S. Customs

website at http://www.customs.ustreas.gov. 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.

[[Page 53881]]

The import restraint limits for textile products, produced or

manufactured in Sri Lanka and exported during the period January 1,

1999 through December 31, 1999 are based on limits notified to the

Textiles Monitoring Body pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreement on

Textiles and Clothing (ATC).

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

Commissioner of Customs to establish the 1999 limits. The limits for

certain categories have been reduced for carryforward applied to 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).

Information regarding the 1999 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

September 30, 1998.

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, 1999, entry into the United States for consumption and

withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton, wool, man-made

fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile

products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in

Sri Lanka and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on

January 1, 1999 and extending through December 31, 1999, in excess

of the following levels of restraint:

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Category Twelve-month restraint limit

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237....................................... 342,660 dozen.

314....................................... 4,917,752 square meters.

331/631................................... 3,489,709 dozen pairs.

333/633................................... 65,632 dozen.

334/634................................... 726,659 dozen.

335/835................................... 319,730 dozen.

336/636/836............................... 478,628 dozen.

338/339................................... 1,453,319 dozen.

340/640................................... 1,292,035 dozen.

341/641................................... 2,252,795 dozen of which not

more than 1,501,864 dozen

shall be in Category 341

and not more than 1,501,864

dozen shall be in Category

641.

342/642/842............................... 758,739 dozen.

345/845................................... 207,151 dozen.

347/348/847............................... 1,178,469 dozen.

350/650................................... 135,642 dozen.

351/651................................... 375,700 dozen.

352/652................................... 1,550,206 dozen.

359-C/659-C \1\........................... 1,492,562 kilograms.

360....................................... 1,735,020 numbers.

363....................................... 14,048,739 numbers.

369-D \2\................................. 1,116,364 kilograms.

369-S \3\................................. 878,949 kilograms.

434....................................... 7,458 dozen.

435....................................... 15,981 dozen.

440....................................... 10,654 dozen.

611....................................... 6,795,497 square meters.

635....................................... 426,308 dozen.

638/639/838............................... 1,096,108 dozen.

644....................................... 615,290 numbers.

645/646................................... 246,115 dozen.

647/648................................... 1,246,746 dozen.

840....................................... 354,181 dozen.

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\1\ Category 359-C: only HTS numbers 6103.42.2025, 6103.49.8034,

6104.62.1020, 6104.69.8010, 6114.20.0048, 6114.20.0052, 6203.42.2010,

6203.42.2090, 6204.62.2010, 6211.32.0010, 6211.32.0025 and

6211.42.0010; Category 659-C: only HTS numbers 6103.23.0055,

6103.43.2020, 6103.43.2025, 6103.49.2000, 6103.49.8038, 6104.63.1020,

6104.63.1030, 6104.69.1000, 6104.69.8014, 6114.30.3044, 6114.30.3054,

6203.43.2010, 6203.43.2090, 6203.49.1010, 6203.49.1090, 6204.63.1510,

6204.69.1010, 6210.10.9010, 6211.33.0010, 6211.33.0017 and

6211.43.0010.

\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.

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 1998 shall be

charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see

directive dated December 22, 1997) 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.

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. 98-26801 Filed 10-6-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F