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

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations

with the Government of Belarus

September 21, 1999.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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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 category 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 September 17, 1999, under Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of

1956, the Government of the United States requested consultations with

the Government of Belarus with respect to glass fiber fabric in

Category 622, produced or manufactured in Belarus.

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

solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of

Belarus, the Government of the United States reserves its right to

establish a twelve-month limit for the period beginning on September

17, 1999 and extending through September 16, 2000 of not less than

6,480,552 square meters for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse for

consumption of glass fiber fabric in Category 622, produced or

manufactured in Belarus.

A summary statement of serious damage, actual threat of serious

damage or the exacerbation of serious damage concerning Category 622

follows this notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding

Category 622 or to comment on domestic production or availability of

products included in this category 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: Becky Geiger. The comments received will be

considered in the context of the consultations with the Government of

Belarus.

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.

This solicitation of comments 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 this category. Should such a solution be reached in

consultations with the Government of Belarus, 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 63 FR 71096, published on December 23, 1998).

Information regarding the 2000 CORRELATION will be published in the

Federal Register at a later date.

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

0Statement in Support of Request for Consultations Under Section 204 of

the Agricultural Act of 1956

Belarus

Glass Fiber Fabric--Category 622

Import Situation and Conclusion

U.S. imports of glass fiber fabric, Category 622, from Belarus

surged to 6,480,552 square meters during the year ending May 1999, over

14 times the 456,093 square meters imported during the year ending May

1998. During the first five months of 1999, Belarus shipped 4,864,218

square meters, nearly 20 times the January-May 1998 level and over two

and a half times the total calendar year 1998 level. In 1999, Belarus

became the second largest supplier of glass fiber fabric to the United

States, accounting for 10 percent of total Category 622 imports. In

calendar year 1997, Belarus was the seventh largest supplier and

accounted for less than one percent of total Category 622 imports.

Imports from Belarus were 1.3 percent of U.S. production of Category

622 in year ending March 1999 and only 0.1 percent in 1997.

U.S. imports of glass fiber fabric, Category 622, from Belarus

entered the U.S. at an average landed duty-paid value of $0.81 per

square meter during the first five months of 1999, 23 percent below the

average landed duty-paid value for all glass fiber fabric imports into

the U.S., and 39 percent below the average U.S. producers' price for

glass fiber fabrics.

The sharp and substantial increase of low-valued Category 622

imports from Belarus threatens to cause disruption to the U.S. glass

fiber fabric market and industry.

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

U.S. production of glass fiber fabric, Category 622, fell to

388,849,000 square meters in 1998, 6 percent below the 1997 production

level. Production continued downward in 1999, falling to 92,555,000

square meters during January-March 1999,16 percent below the first

quarter 1998 level. Imports of category 622 increased to 54,741,000

square meters in 1998, 15 percent above the 1997 level, and reached

65,657,000 square meters for the year ending May 1999, 38 percent

higher than the level of imports for the same period a year earlier.

Imports surged in 1999, increasing 52 percent during January-

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May 1999 from the January-May 1998 level.

The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 11

percent in 1997 to 14 percent in 1998 and reached 20 percent in the

first quarter of 1999. The domestic manufacturers' share of the U.S.

market for glass fiber fabrics fell two percentage points in 1998,

dropping from 89 percent in 1997 to 87 percent in 1998 and fell an

additional 4 percentage points to 83 percent in the first quarter 1999.

[FR Doc. 99-24983 Filed 9-24-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F