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

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATIONS OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Man-

Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textile Products

Produced or Manufactured in Oman

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: 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 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, effected by exchange of notes

dated December 13, 1993 and January 15, 1994, as amended and extended,

between the Governments of the United States and the Sultanate of Oman

establishes limits for textile products, produced or manufactured in

Oman and exported during the period January 1, 2000 and through

December 31, 2000.

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

Commissioner of Customs to establish limits for the 2000 period.

These limits may be revised if Oman becomes a member of the World

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

agreement to Oman.

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; the Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected

by exchange of notes dated December 13, 1993 and January 15, 1994,

as amended and extended, between the Governments of the United

States and the Sultanate of Oman, 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,

man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textile

products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in

Oman 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 restraint limit

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334/634................................... 159,135 dozen.

335/635................................... 283,704 dozen.

338/339................................... 588,686 dozen.

340/640................................... 283,704 dozen.

341/641................................... 212,777 dozen.

347/348................................... 1,014,241 dozen.

647/648/847............................... 434,923 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 the Sultanate of Oman.

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.

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

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

agreement to Oman.

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. 99-32630 Filed 12-15-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F