Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Wool Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Ukraine

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Wool Textile

Products Produced or Manufactured in Ukraine

September 13, 1999.

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, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naomi Freeman, 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 Bilateral Textile Agreement of July 22, 1998, between the

Governments of the United States and Ukraine establishes limits for

certain wool textile products, produced or manufactured in Ukraine and

exported during the period beginning on January 1, 2000 and extending

through December 31, 2000.

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

Commissioner of Customs to establish the 2000 limits.

These limits may be revised if Ukraine becomes a member of the

World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO

agreement to Ukraine.

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 63 FR 71096, published on December 23, 1998).

Information regarding the 2000

[[Page 50499]]

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 13, 1999.

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 Bilateral Textile Agreement of

July 22, 1998, between the Governments of the United States and

Ukraine, you are directed to prohibit, effective on January 1, 2000,

entry into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from

warehouse for consumption of wool textile products in the following

categories, produced or manufactured in Ukraine and exported during

the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 2000 and extending

through December 31, 2000, in excess of the following levels of

restraint:

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Category Twelve-month limit

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435....................................... 93,740 dozen.

442....................................... 15,606 dozen.

444....................................... 67,626 numbers.

448....................................... 67,626 dozen.

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The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment pursuant to

the current bilateral agreement between the Governments of the

United States and Ukraine.

These limits may be revised if Ukraine becomes a member of the

World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO

agreement to Ukraine.

Products in the above categories exported during 1999 shall be

charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see

directive dated November 3, 1998) 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. 99-24248 Filed 9-16-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F