Establishment of Import Limits for Certain Cotton Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Cambodia

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Establishment of Import Limits for Certain Cotton Textile

Products Produced or Manufactured in Cambodia

December 22, 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: December 30, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janet Heinzen, 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. For information on

categories on 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.

A notice published in the Federal Register on November 4, 1998 (63

FR 59548) announces that if no solution is agreed upon in consultations

between the Governments of the United States and Cambodia on Categories

338/339 and 345 the Committee for the Implementation of Textile

Agreements may establish a limit for the twelve-month period beginning

on October 28, 1998 and extending 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.

Inasmuch as no agreement was reached during consultations on a

mutually satisfactory solution, the United States Government has

decided to control imports in Categories 338/339 and 345 for the period

October 28, 1998 through October 27, 1999, as authorized by Section 204

of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854).

The United States remains committed to finding a solution

concerning Categories 338/339 and 345. 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).

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

December 22, 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); and Executive Order 11651

of March 3, 1972, as amended, you are directed to prohibit,

effective on December 30, 1998, entry into the United States for

consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton

textile products in the following categories, produced or

manufactured in Cambodia and exported during the twelve-month period

beginning on October 28, 1998 and extending through October 27,

1999, in excess of the following levels of restraint:

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Category Twelve-month limit \1\

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338/339................................... 1,745,634 dozen.

345....................................... 53,001 dozen.

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\1\ These limits have not been adjusted to account for any imports

exported after October 27, 1998.

Textile products in Categories 338/339 and 345 which have been

exported to the United States prior to October 28, 1998 shall not be

subject to this directive.

Textile products in Categories 338/339 and 345 which have been

released from the custody of the U.S. Customs Service under the

provisions of 19 U.S.C. 1448(b) or 1484(a)(1) prior to the effective

date of this directive shall not be denied entry under this

directive.

Charges to these categories based on exports between October 28,

1998 and the effective date of this directive will be provided to

Customs when information regarding these entries becomes available.

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. 98-34388 Filed 12-28-98; 8:45 am]

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