Announcement of Import Limits for Certain Wool Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Limits for Certain Wool Textile Products

Produced or Manufactured in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

December 14, 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 November 7, 1997 between the

Governments of the United States and the Former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia establishes limits for certain wool textile products,

produced or manufactured in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

and exported during the period January 1, 2000 through December 31,

2000.

These limits do not apply to goods entered under the Outward

Processing Program, as defined in the notice and letter to the

Commissioner of Customs published in the Federal Register on December

14, 1999 (see 64 FR 69746).

Any shipment for entry under the Outward Processing Program which

is not accompanied by valid certification in accordance with the

provisions established in the notice and letter to the Commissioner of

Customs, published in the Federal Register on December 14, 1999 (see 64

FR 69743), shall be denied entry. However, the Government of the Former

Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia may authorize the entry and charges to

the appropriate specific limits by the issuance of a valid visa. Also

see 63 FR 17156, as amended, published on April 8, 1998.

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 the Former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and

the United States applies the WTO agreement to the Former Yugoslav

Republic of Macedonia.

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 14, 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

November 7, 1997 between the Governments of the United States and

the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 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 the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and

exported during the period beginning on January 1, 2000 and

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

levels of restraint:

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

Category Twelve-month limit

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433....................................... 21,224 dozen.

434....................................... 10,612 dozen.

435....................................... 28,414 dozen.

443....................................... 175,099 numbers.

448....................................... 63,672 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 Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. These

limits do not apply to products entered under the Outward Processing

Program.

Products in the above categories exported during 1999 shall be

charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see

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

balances. In the event the limits established for that period have

been exhausted by previous entries, such

[[Page 71116]]

products shall be charged to the limits set forth in this directive.

These limits do not apply to goods entered under the Outward

Processing Program, as defined in the letter to the Commissioner of

Customs, dated December 8, 1999 (see 64 FR 69746).

Any shipment for entry under the Outward Processing Program

which is not accompanied by a valid certification in accordance with

the provisions established in the letter to the Commissioner of

Customs, dated December 9, 1999 (see 64 FR 69743), shall be denied

entry. However, the Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia may authorize the entry and charges to the appropriate

specific limits by the issuance of a valid visa. Also see directive

dated April 2, 1998, as amended (63 FR 17156).

These limits may be revised if the Former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and

the United States applies the WTO agreement to the Former Yugoslav

Republic of Macedonia.

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. 99-32794 Filed 12-17-99; 8:45 am]

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