Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Macau

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Wool,

Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and

Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Macau

December 10, 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: 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.

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 import restraint limits for textile products, produced or

manufactured in Macau and exported during the period January 1, 2000

through December 31, 2000 are based on limits notified to the Textiles

Monitoring Body pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and

Clothing (ATC).

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

Commissioner of Customs to establish the 2000 limits.

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 Uruguay Round Agreement on

Textiles and Clothing (ATC), 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, wool, man-made

fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile

products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in

Macau 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:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Category Twelve-month restraint limit

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Levels in Group I

219....................................... 3,341,886 square meters.

225....................................... 11,696,601 square meters.

313....................................... 8,354,715 square meters.

314....................................... 1,392,452 square meters.

315....................................... 4,177,358 square meters.

317....................................... 8,354,715 square meters.

326....................................... 3,341,886 square meters.

333/334/335/833/834/835................... 351,109 dozen of which not

more than 184,951 dozen

shall be in Categories 333/

335/833/835.

336/836................................... 83,220 dozen.

338....................................... 451,997 dozen.

339....................................... 1,893,252 dozen.

340....................................... 427,814 dozen.

341....................................... 275,931 dozen.

342....................................... 124,831 dozen.

345....................................... 76,331 dozen.

347/348/847............................... 1,069,864 dozen.

350/850................................... 83,220 dozen.

351/851................................... 99,866 dozen.

359-C/659-C \1\........................... 499,324 kilograms.

359-V \2\................................. 166,443 kilograms.

611....................................... 3,341,886 square meters.

625/626/627/628/629....................... 8,354,715 square meters.

633/634/635............................... 743,501 dozen.

638/639/838............................... 2,315,282 dozen.

640....................................... 164,619 dozen.

641/840................................... 282,937 dozen.

642/842................................... 164,841 dozen.

645/646................................... 385,882 dozen.

647/648................................... 778,441 dozen.

659-S \3\................................. 166,443 kilograms.

Group II

400-431, 433-438, 440-448, 459pt. \4\, 464 1,575,728 square meters

and 469pt. \5\, as a group. equivalent.

Sublevel in Group II

445/446................................... 84,949 dozen.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

\1\ Category 359-C: only HTS numbers 6103.42.2025, 6103.49.8034,

6104.62.1020, 6104.69.8010, 6114.20.0048, 6114.20.0052, 6203.42.2010,

6203.42.2090, 6204.62.2010, 6211.32.0010, 6211.32.0025 and

6211.42.0010; Category 659-C: only HTS numbers 6103.23.0055,

6103.43.2020, 6103.43.2025, 6103.49.2000, 6103.49.8038, 6104.63.1020,

6104.63.1030, 6104.69.1000, 6104.69.8014, 6114.30.3044, 6114.30.3054,

6203.43.2010, 6203.43.2090, 6203.49.1010, 6203.49.1090, 6204.63.1510,

6204.69.1010, 6210.10.9010, 6211.33.0010, 6211.33.0017 and

6211.43.0010.

\2\ Category 359-V: only HTS numbers 6103.19.2030, 6103.19.9030,

6104.12.0040, 6104.19.8040, 6110.20.1022, 6110.20.1024, 6110.20.2030,

6110.20.2035, 6110.90.9044, 6110.90.9046, 6201.92.2010, 6202.92.2020,

6203.19.1030, 6203.19.9030, 6204.12.0040, 6204.19.8040, 6211.32.0070

and 6211.42.0070.

\3\ Category 659-S: only HTS numbers 6112.31.0010, 6112.31.0020,

6112.41.0010, 6112.41.0020, 6112.41.0030, 6112.41.0040, 6211.11.1010,

6211.11.1020, 6211.12.1010 and 6211.12.1020.

\4\ Category 459pt.: all HTS numbers except 6405.20.6030, 6405.20.6060,

6405.20.6090, 6406.99.1505 and 6406.99.1560.

\5\ Category 469pt.: all HTS numbers except 5601.29.0020, 5603.94.1010

and 6406.10.9020.

The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment pursuant to

the provisions of the ATC and administrative arrangements notified

to the Textiles Monitoring Body.

[[Page 70223]]

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. 99-32629 Filed 12-15-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F