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 Thailand

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 Thailand

October 27, 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: 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, 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.

The import restraint limits for textile products, produced or

manufactured in Thailand 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.

Effective on January 1, 1999, a visa will no longer be required for

products integrated in the second stage of the integration of textiles

and clothing into GATT 1994 from WTO member countries (see 63 FR 53881,

published on October 7, 1998). A visa will continue to be required for

non-integrated products. For quota purposes only, products remaining in

categories partially integrated will continue to be designated by the

designator ``pt.''

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

October 27, 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

Thailand and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on

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

of the following limits:

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

Category Twelve-month restraint limit

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

239pt. \1\................................ 1,978,854 kilograms.

Levels in Group I

200....................................... 1,291,522 kilograms.

218....................................... 20,433,505 square meters.

219....................................... 6,888,123 square meters.

300....................................... 5,166,093 kilograms.

301-P \2\................................. 5,166,093 kilograms.

301-O \3\................................. 1,033,220 kilograms.

313-O \4\................................. 24,108,430 square meters.

314-O \5\................................. 55,104,980 square meters.

315-O \6\................................. 34,440,612 square meters.

317-O/326-O \7\........................... 14,458,502 square meters.

363....................................... 22,386,398 numbers.

369-D \8\................................. 246,251 kilograms.

369-S \9\................................. 344,406 kilograms.

603....................................... 2,366,980 kilograms.

604....................................... 805,793 kilograms of which

not more than 516,609

kilograms shall be in

Category 604-A \10\.

607....................................... 3,444,059 kilograms.

611-O \11\................................ 13,172,735 square meters.

613/614/615............................... 52,050,604 square meters of

which not more than

30,307,739 square meters

shall be in Categories 613/

615 and not more than

30,307,739 square meters

shall be in Category 614.

617....................................... 18,796,051 square meters.

619....................................... 7,749,137 square meters.

620....................................... 7,749,137 square meters.

625/626/627/628/629....................... 15,181,426 square meters of

which not more than

12,054,214 square meters

shall be in Category 625.

669-P \12\................................ 7,263,806 kilograms.

Group II

237, 331-348, 350-352, 359-H \13\, 359pt. 315,975,858 square meters

\14\, 431, 433-438, 440, 442-448, 459pt. equivalent.

\15\, 631, 633-652, 659-H \16\, 659pt.

\17\, 831, 833-838, 840-858 and 859pt.

\18\, as a group.

Sublevels in Group II

331/631................................. 1,879,793 dozen pairs.

334/634................................. 671,592 dozen.

335/635/835............................. 533,829 dozen.

336/636................................. 344,406 dozen.

338/339................................. 2,019,727 dozen.

340..................................... 309,966 dozen.

[[Page 58370]]

341/641................................. 731,863 dozen.

342/642................................. 637,152 dozen.

345..................................... 327,186 dozen.

347/348/847............................. 899,760 dozen.

351/651................................. 258,304 dozen.

359-H/659-H............................. 1,510,937 kilograms.

433..................................... 9,782 dozen.

434..................................... 12,075 dozen.

435..................................... 54,869 dozen.

438..................................... 18,112 dozen.

442..................................... 21,033 dozen.

638/639................................. 2,380,393 dozen.

640..................................... 568,269 dozen.

645/646................................. 344,406 dozen.

647/648................................. 1,226,086 dozen.

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

\1\ Category 239pt.: only HTS number 6209.20.5040 (diapers).

\2\ Category 301-P: only HTS numbers 5206.21.0000, 5206.22.0000,

5206.23.0000, 5206.24.0000, 5206.25.0000, 5206.41.0000, 5206.42.0000,

5206.43.0000, 5206.44.0000 and 5206.45.0000.

\3\ Category 301-O: only HTS numbers 5205.21.0020, 5205.21.0090,

5205.22.0020, 5205.22.0090, 5205.23.0020, 5205.23.0090, 5205.24.0020,

5205.24.0090, 5205.26.0020, 5205.26.0090, 5205.27.0020, 5205.27.0090,

5205.28.0020, 5205.28.0090, 5205.41.0020, 5205.41.0090, 5205.42.0020,

5205.42.0090, 5205.43.0020, 5205.43.0090, 5205.44.0020, 5205.44.0090,

5205.46.0020, 5205.46.0090, 5205.47.0020, 5205.47.0090, 5205.48.0020

and 5205.48.0090.

\4\Category 313-O: all HTS numbers except 5208.52.3035, 5208.52.4035 and

5209.51.6032.

\5\Category 314-O: all HTS numbers except 5209.51.6015.

\6\Category 315-O: all HTS numbers except 5208.52.4055.

\7\Category 317-O: all HTS numbers except 5208.59.2085; Category 326-O:

all HTS numbers except 5208.59.2015, 5209.59.0015 and 5211.59.0015.

\8\ Category 369-D: only HTS numbers 6302.60.0010, 6302.91.0005 and

6302.91.0045.

\9\ Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.

\10\ Category 604-A: only HTS number 5509.32.0000.

\11\ Category 611-O: all HTS numbers except 5516.14.0005, 5516.14.0025

and 5516.14.0085.

\12\ Category 669-P: only HTS numbers 6305.32.0010, 6305.32.0020,

6305.33.0010, 6305.33.0020 and 6305.39.0000.

\13\ Category 359-H: only HTS numbers 6505.90.1540 and 6505.90.2060.

\14\ Category 359pt.: all HTS numbers except 6505.90.1540, 6505.90.2060

(Category 359-H); and 6406.99.1550.

\15\ Category 459pt.: all HTS numbers except 6405.20.6030, 6405.20.6060,

6405.20.6090, 6406.99.1505 and 6406.99.1560.

\16\ Category 659-H: only HTS numbers 6502.00.9030, 6504.00.9015,

6504.00.9060, 6505.90.5090, 6505.90.6090, 6505.90.7090 and

6505.90.8090.

\17\ Category 659pt.: all HTS numbers except 6502.00.9030, 6504.00.9015,

6504.00.9060, 6505.90.5090, 6505.90.6090, 6505.90.7090, 6505.90.8090

(Category 659-H); 6406.99.1510 and 6406.99.1540.

\18\ 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 1998 shall be

charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see

directives dated December 5, 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.

The conversion factors for merged Categories 359-H/659-H and

638/639 are 11.5 and 12.96, respectively.

Effective on January 1, 1999, a visa will no longer be required

for products integrated in the second stage of the integration of

textiles and clothing into GATT 1994 from WTO member countries (see

directive dated September 30, 1998). A visa will continue to be

required for non-integrated products. For quota purposes only,

products remaining in categories partially integrated will continue

to be designated by the designator ``pt.''

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. 98-29168 Filed 10-29-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F