Announcement of an Import Restraint Limit for Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Laos

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of an Import Restraint Limit for Certain Cotton and

Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Laos

December 10, 1999.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing

a limit.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2000.

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 the quota status of this

limit, 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 September 15, 1994, as amended

and extended, between the Governments of the United States and the Lao

People's Democratic Republic, establishes a limit for Categories 340/

640 for the period January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2000.

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

Commissioner of Customs to establish the 2000 limit for Categories 340/

640.

This limit may be revised if Laos becomes a member of the World

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

agreement to Laos.

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.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

December 10, 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

September 15, 1994, as amended and extended, between the Governments

of the United States and the Lao People's Democratic Republic, you

are directed to prohibit, effective on January 1, 2000, entry into

the United States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for

consumption of cotton and man-made fiber textile products in

Categories 340/640, produced or manufactured in Laos

[[Page 70222]]

and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on January 1,

2000 and extending through December 31, 2000, in excess of 175,889

dozen.

The limit set forth above is subject to adjustment pursuant to

the current bilateral agreement between the Governments of the

United States and the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Products in the above categories exported during 1999 shall be

charged to the applicable category limit for that year (see

directive dated September 30, 1998) to the extent of any unfilled

balance. In the event the limit established for that period has been

exhausted by previous entries, such products shall be charged to the

limit set forth in this directive.

This limit may be revised if Laos becomes a member of the World

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

agreement to Laos.

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 this action falls 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. 99-32628 Filed 12-15-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F