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 Romania

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 Romania

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 import restraint limits for textile products, produced or

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

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

Textiles Monitoring Body pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreement on

Textiles and Clothing (ATC).

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 69744), shall be denied entry. However, the Government of Romania

may authorize the entry and charges to the appropriate specific limits

by the issuance of a valid visa. Also see 49 FR 493, as amended,

published on January 4, 1984.

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 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 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

Romania 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 limit

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313....................................... 2,361,841 square meters.

314....................................... 1,771,380 square meters.

315....................................... 4,262,830 square meters.

333/833................................... 168,831 dozen.

334....................................... 408,085 dozen.

335/835................................... 213,855 dozen.

338/339................................... 922,951 dozen.

340....................................... 402,862 dozen.

341/840................................... 168,831 dozen.

347/348................................... 720,353 dozen.

350....................................... 38,134 dozen.

352....................................... 256,794 dozen.

359pt. \1\................................ 921,111 kilograms.

360....................................... 2,380,407 numbers.

361....................................... 1,586,939 numbers.

369pt. \2\................................ 417,754 kilograms.

410....................................... 177,507 square meters.

433/434................................... 9,832 dozen.

435....................................... 10,284 dozen.

442....................................... 11,910 dozen.

443....................................... 91,879 numbers.

444....................................... 43,313 numbers.

447/448................................... 23,887 dozen.

604....................................... 1,694,478 kilograms.

638/639................................... 870,198 dozen.

640....................................... 119,682 dozen.

647/648................................... 206,593 dozen.

666....................................... 173,508 kilograms.

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\1\ Category 359pt.: all HTS numbers except 6406.99.1550.

\2\ Category 369pt.: all HTS numbers except 5601.10.1000, 5601.21.0090,

5701.90.1020, 5701.90.2020, 5702.10.9020, 5702.39.2010, 5702.49.1020,

5702.49.1080, 5702.59.1000, 5702.99.1010, 5702.99.1090, 5705.00.2020

and 6406.10.7700.

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. These limits do not apply to

products exported 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 November 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 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).

[[Page 71117]]

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 69744), shall be denied

entry. However, the Government of Romania may authorize the entry

and charges to the appropriate specific limits by the issuance of a

valid visa. Also see directive dated December 29, 1983, as amended,

(49 FR 493).

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. 99-32795 Filed 12-17-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F