Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations with the Government of Cambodia

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations

with the Government of Cambodia

October 30, 1998.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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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 categories for which

consultations have been requested, call (202) 482-3740.

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.

On October 28, 1998, under Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of

1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854), the Government of the United States

requested consultations with the Government of Cambodia with respect to

cotton knit shirts and blouses in Categories 338/339 and cotton

sweaters in Category 345, produced or manufactured in Cambodia.

The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no

solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of

Cambodia, the Government of the United States may later establish

limits for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of

textile products in Categories 338/339 and 345, produced or

manufactured in Cambodia and exported during the twelve-month period

which began on October 28, 1998 and extends through October 27, 1999,

at a level of not less than 1,745,634 dozen for Categories 338/339 and

at a level of not less than 53,001 dozen for Category 345.

Statements of serious damage, actual threat of serious damage or

the exacerbation of serious damage concerning Categories 338/339 and

345 follow this notice.

In a notice and letter to the Commissioner of Customs published on

October 28, 1998 (63 FR 57666), CITA extended the restraint limit on

cotton and man-made fiber gloves and mittens in Categories 331/631 for

the period October 29, 1998 through October 28, 1999.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

Categories 331/631, 338/339 and 345 or to comment on domestic

production or availability of products included in these categories is

invited to submit 10 copies of such comments or information to Troy H.

Cribb, Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; ATTN:

Helen L. LeGrande. The comments received will be considered in the

context of the consultations with the Government of Cambodia.

Because the exact timing of the consultations is not yet certain,

comments should be submitted promptly. Comments or information

submitted in response to this notice will be available for public

inspection in the Office of Textiles and Apparel, room H3100, U.S.

Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,

DC.

Further comments may be invited regarding particular commentary or

information received from the public which the Committee for the

Implementation of Textile Agreements considers appropriate for further

consideration.

The solicitation of comments regarding any aspect of the

implementation of an agreement is not a waiver in any respect of the

exemption contained in 5 U.S.C.553(a)(1) relating to matters which

constitute ``a foreign affairs function of the United States.''

The United States remains committed to finding a solution

concerning these categories. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government of Cambodia, further notice will be

published in the Federal Register.

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).

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Summary of the Statement in Support of Request for Consultations Under

Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956

Men's & Boys' and Women's & Girls' Cotton Knit Shirts and Blouses--

Category 338/339

October 1998

Import Situation and Conclusion

U.S. imports of men's and boys' and women's and girls' cotton knit

shirts and blouses, Category 338/339, from Cambodia surged to 1,745,634

dozen during the year ending July 1998, nearly 12 times the 151,226

dozen imported during the year ending July 1997 and more than 600 times

the 2,568 dozen imported in calendar year 1996. Imports from Cambodia

were 1.2 percent of total U.S. imports of Category 338/339 in the year

ending July 1998, and were equivalent to 1.7 percent of U.S. production

of Category 338/339 in 1997.

U.S. imports of men's and boys' and women's and girls' cotton knit

shirts and blouses, Category 338/339, from Cambodia entered the U.S. at

an average landed duty-paid value of $47.28 per dozen during the first

seven months of 1998, 10 percent below the average landed duty-paid

value for all men's and boys' and women's and girls' cotton knit shirt

and blouse imports into the U.S., and 43 percent below the average U.S.

producers' price for men's and boys' and women's and girls' cotton knit

shirts and blouses.

The sharp and substantial increase of low-valued Category 338/339

imports from Cambodia threatens to cause disruption to the U.S. men's

and boys' and women's and girls' cotton knit shirt and blouse market

and to the orderly flow of trade in these products. In several

instances, Cambodia's import level for the year ending July 1998

exceeds the trade levels of WTO countries that have quota agreements

with the United States.

U.S. Production, Import Penetration, and Market Share

U.S. production of men's and boys' and women's and girls' cotton

knit shirts and blouses, Category 338/339, declined in 1997 falling to

104,876,000 dozen, 4 percent below the 1996 production level. Imports

of Category 338/339 increased from 97,278,858 dozen in 1996 to

119,559,213 dozen in 1997, a 23 percent increase. Imports continued to

increase reaching 141,574,072 dozen in the year ending July 1998, 28

percent above the same period a year earlier.

[[Page 59549]]

The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 89

percent in 1996 to 114 percent in 1997. The domestic manufacturers'

share of the U.S. market for men's and boys' and women's and girls'

cotton knit shirts and blouses dropped 10 percentage points, falling to

36 percent in 1997.

Summary of the Statement in Support of Request for Consultations Under

Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956

Cotton Sweaters--Category 345

October 1998

Import Situation and Conclusion

U.S. imports of cotton sweaters, Category 345, from Cambodia surged

to 53,001 dozen during the year ending July 1998, over 200 times the

249 dozen imported during the year ending July 1997. There were no

imports from Cambodia in 1996. Imports from Cambodia were 1.6 percent

of total U.S. imports of Category 345 in the year ending July 1998, and

were equivalent to 2.3 percent of U.S. production of Category 345 in

1997.

U.S. imports of cotton sweaters, Category 345, from Cambodia

entered the U.S. at an average landed duty-paid value of $57.26 per

dozen during the first seven months of 1998, 62 percent below the

average landed duty-paid value for all cotton sweater imports into the

U.S., and 68 percent below the average U.S. producers' price for cotton

sweaters.

The sharp and substantial increase of low-valued Category 345

imports from Cambodia threatens to cause disruption to the U.S. cotton

sweater market and to the orderly flow of trade in these products.

U.S. Production, Import Penetration, and Market Share

U.S. production of cotton sweaters, Category 345, declined in 1997

falling to 2,290,000 dozen, 18 percent below the 1996 production level.

Imports of Category 345 increased from 2,368,553 dozen in 1996 to

2,862,748 dozen in 1997, a 21 percent increase. Imports continued to

increase reaching 3,322,066 dozen in the year ending July 1998, 30

percent above the same period a year earlier.

The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 85

percent in 1996 to 125 percent in 1997. The domestic manufacturers'

share of the U.S. market for cotton sweaters dropped 10 percentage

points, falling to 41 percent in 1997.

[FR Doc. 98-29635 Filed 11-3-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F