Consolidation and Amendment of Export Visa Requirements to Include the Electronic Visa Information System for Certain Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Bangladesh

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Consolidation and Amendment of Export Visa Requirements to

Include the Electronic Visa Information System for Certain Cotton,

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

Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Bangladesh

December 14, 1999.

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

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs

consolidating and amending visa requirements.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross Arnold, International Trade

Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of

Commerce, (202) 482-3400.

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.

In exchange of notes dated December 9 and December 14, 1999, the

Governments of the United States and Bangladesh agreed to amend the

existing visa arrangement for cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend

and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products in Categories

200-239, 300-369, 400-469, 600-670, 800-899, produced or manufactured

in Bangladesh and exported on and after January 1, 2000. The amended

arrangement consolidates existing provisions and new provisions for the

Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS). The Governments of the

United States and Bangladesh will implement a 6-month test phase in

which, in addition to the ELVIS requirements, shipments will continue

to be accompanied by a visa. This notice supersedes the notice and

letter to the Commissioner of Customs, as amended, published in the

Federal Register on November 17, 1988 (53 FR 46484).

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.

Goods integrated into GATT 1994 in Stage II by the United States

will not require a visa or ELVIS transmission (see Federal Register

notice 63 FR 53881, published on October 7, 1998).

Interested persons are advised to take all necessary steps to

ensure that textile products entered into the United States for

consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will meet the

visa requirements set forth in the letter published below to the

Commissioner of Customs.

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: This directive supersedes the directive

issued to you on November 14, 1988 by the Chairman, Committee for

the Implementation of Textile Agreements. Under the terms of section

204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); and

pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing and

the Export Visa Arrangement, effected by exchange of notes dated

December 9 and December 14, 1999, between the Governments of the

United States and Bangladesh; and in accordance with the provisions

of Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, you are

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

customs territory of the United States (i.e., the 50 states, the

District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) 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 Categories 200-239, 300-369, 400-469, 600-

670, 800-899, including part categories and merged categories,

produced or manufactured in Bangladesh and exported on and after

January 1, 2000 for which the Government of Bangladesh has not

issued an appropriate export visa and Electronic Visa Information

System (ELVIS) transmission fully described below. Should additional

categories, part-categories or merged categories become subject to

import quotas, the entire category(s), part-category(s) or merged

category(s) shall be included in the coverage of this arrangement.

A visa must accompany each shipment of the aforementioned

textile products. A circular stamped marking in blue ink will appear

on the front of the original export license. The original visa shall

not be stamped on duplicate copies of the export license. The

original export license with the original visa stamp will be

required to enter the shipment into the United States. Duplicates of

the export license and/or visa may not be used for this purpose.

Visa Requirements

Each visa stamp shall include the following information:

1. The visa number. The visa number shall be in the standard

nine digit letter format, beginning with one numeric digit for the

last digit of the year of export, followed by the two character

alpha code specified by the International Organization for

Standardization (ISO) (the code for Bangladesh is ``BD''), and a six

digit serial number identifying the shipment; e.g., 0BD123456.

2. The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day,

month and year on which the visa was issued.

3. The original signature of the issuing official authorized by

the Government of Bangladesh.

4. The correct category(s), part category(s), merged

category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity in the shipment in

the unit(s) of quantity provided for in Annex A of the Export Visa

Arrangement, in the U.S. Department of Commerce Correlation, and in

the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated, or

successor document and shall be reported in the spaces provided

within the visa stamp (e.g., ``Cat. 340-510 DOZ'').

Quantities must be stated in whole numbers. Decimals or

fractions will not be accepted. Merged category quota merchandise

may be accompanied by either the appropriate merged category visa or

the correct category visa corresponding to the actual shipment. (For

example, quota Category 347/348 may be visaed as ``Cat. ``347/348''

or if the shipment consists solely of Category 347 merchandise, the

shipment may be visaed as ``Cat. 347,'' but not as ``Cat. 348'').

U.S. Customs shall not permit entry if the shipment does not

have a visa, or if the visa number, date of issuance, signature,

category, quantity or units of quantity are missing, incorrect,

illegible, or have been crossed out or altered in any way. If the

quantity indicated on the visa is less than that of the

[[Page 71118]]

shipment, entry shall not be permitted. If the quantity indicated on

the visa is more than that of the shipment, entry shall be permitted

and only the amount entered shall be charged to any applicable

quota.

The categories and units of measure shall be those listed in

Annex A of the Export Visa Arrangement and as determined by the U.S.

Customs Service.

If the visa is not acceptable then a new correct visa must be

obtained from the Government of Bangladesh or a visa waiver may be

issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce at the request of the

Government of Bangladesh and presented to the U.S. Customs Service

before any portion of the shipment will be released. The waiver, if

used, only waives the requirement to present a visa with the

shipment. It does not waive any quota requirement. Visa waivers will

only be issued for classification purposes or for one-time special

purpose shipments that are not part of an ongoing commercial

enterprise.

If the visaed invoice is deficient, the U.S. Customs Service

will not return the original document after entry, but will provide

the importer a certified copy of that visaed export license for use

in obtaining a new correct visaed invoice or a visa waiver.

Only the actual quantity in the shipment and the correct

category will be charged to the applicable restraint level.

If a shipment from Bangladesh has been allowed entry into the

commerce of the United States with either an incorrect visa or no

visa and redelivery is requested but is not made, the shipment will

be charged to the correct category limit whether or not a

replacement visa or visa waiver is provided.

The Government of the United States will make available to the

Government of Bangladesh, upon request, information on the amounts

and categories involved for all items subject to quota administered

by the U.S. Customs Service.

The complete name and address of a company performing the major

production steps in the manufacturing process of the textile

products covered by the visa shall be provided on the textile visa

document.

ELVIS Requirements:

A. Each ELVIS message will include the following information:

i. The visa number as defined above.

ii. The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day,

month and year on which the visa was issued.

iii. The correct category(s), part category(s), merged

category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity of the shipment in

the unit(s) of quantity provided for in the U.S. Department of

Commerce Correlation and in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the

United States Annotated or successor documents.

iv. The quantity of the shipment in the correct units of

quantity

v. The manufacturer ID number (MID). The MID shall begin with

``BD,'' followed by the first three characters from each of the

first two words of the name of the manufacturer, followed by the

largest number on the address line up to the first four digits,

followed by three letters from the city name.

B. Entry of a shipment shall not be permitted:

i. if an ELVIS transmission has not been received for the

shipment from Bangladesh;

ii. if the ELVIS transmission for that shipment is missing any

of the following:

a. visa number

b. category or part category

c. quantity

d. unit of measure

e. date of issuance

f. manufacturer ID number;

iii. if the ELVIS transmission for the shipment does not match

the information supplied by the importer with regard to any of the

following:

a. visa number

b. category or part category

c. unit of measure;

iv. if the quantity being entered is greater than the quantity

transmitted;

v. if the visa number has previously been used, except in the

case of a split shipment, or canceled, except when an entry has

already been made using the visa number.

C. A new, correct ELVIS transmission from Bangladesh is required

before a shipment that has been denied entry for one of the

circumstances described above will be released.

D. Notwithstanding the previous paragraph, a visa waiver may be

accepted, at the discretion of the U.S. Department of Commerce, in

lieu of an ELVIS transmission if the shipment qualifies as a one-

time special purpose shipment that is not part of an ongoing

commercial enterprise.

E. Shipments will not be released for forty-eight hours in the

event of a system failure. If system failure exceeds forty-eight

hours, for the remaining period of the system failure, the U.S.

Customs Service will release shipments on the basis of the paper

visaed document.

F. If a shipment from Bangladesh is allowed entry into the

commerce of the United States with an incorrect visa, no visa, an

incorrect ELVIS transmission, or no ELVIS transmission, and

redelivery is requested but is not made, the shipment will be

charged to the correct category limit whether or not a replacement

visa or waiver is provided or a new ELVIS message is transmitted.

G. The U.S. Customs will provide the Government of Bangladesh

with a report on visa utilization which is accessible at any time.

This report will contain:

a. visa number

b. category number

c. unit of measure

d. quantity charged to quota

e. entry number

f. entry line number

Exempt Certification Requirements

Textiles and textile articles provided for below, which includes

Bangladesh items listed in Annex C of the Export Visa Arrangement,

will be exempted from the levels of restraint (quotas), visa and

ELVIS requirements if they are certified, prior to the shipment

leaving Bangladesh, by the placing of the original rectangular-

shaped stamped marking in blue ink on the front of the original

commercial invoice. The original exempt certification shall not be

affixed to duplicate copies of the invoice. The original copy of the

invoice with the original exempt certification will be required to

enter the shipment into the United States. Duplicate copies of the

invoice and/or exempt certification may not be used.

1. Certain floor coverings: Floor coverings provided for in HTS

items 5701.10.1600, 5701.10.4000, 5702.51.2000, 5702.91.3000,

5702.92.0010, 5702.99.1010.

2. Handloomed fabrics, handmade and folklore products:

a. Handloomed fabrics of the cottage industry

b. Handmade textile products made in the cottage industry from

handloomed fabrics; and

c. Particular traditional folklore handicraft products as listed

in Annex C of the Export Visa Arrangement.

Requirements for exempt certification stamp: Each exempt

certification stamp will include the following information:

1. Date of issuance;

2. Signature of issuing official;

3. The basis for the exemption, which shall be noted as:

a. Floor Coverings - HTS number 5701.10.1600 (or whichever HTS

number is applicable).

b. Handloomed fabric

c. Hand-made textile product

d. The name of the particular traditional folklore handicraft

product (Bangladeshi item) as listed below.

Should a shipment be exported from Bangladesh with an incorrect

exempt certification (i.e. the date of issuance, signature or basis

for exemption is missing, incorrect or illegible or has been crossed

out or altered in any way), then the exempt certification shall not

be accepted and entry shall not be permitted until a replacement

certification is issued.

Should a shipment be exported from Bangladesh without an exempt

certification being issued prior to the date of exportation or the

merchandise does not qualify for the exemption, then an exempt

certification shall not be accepted and entry shall not be

permitted. In such a case, a visa or a visa waiver must be obtained

prior to release of any portion of the shipment. If quotas are in

force, the shipment will be charged to the appropriate quota level.

Shipments not requiring visas, ELVIS transmissions or exempt

certifications:

Merchandise imported for the personal use of the importer and

not for resale, regardless of value, and properly marked commercial

sample shipments valued $800 or less do not require a visa, an ELVIS

transmission or exempt certification for entry and shall not be

charged to Agreement levels.

Other provisions:

Except as provided for above, any shipment which is not

accompanied by a valid and correct visa and ELVIS transmission, or

exempt certification in accordance with the foregoing provisions,

shall be denied entry by the Government of the United States unless

the Government of Bangladesh authorizes the entry and any charges to

the agreement levels.

An invoice may cover visaed merchandise or exempt certification

merchandise but not both.

After a six-month test phase is completed, both governments will

conduct a joint

[[Page 71119]]

assessment and make recommendations regarding the elimination of the

visa stamp on the commercial invoice.

Effective on January 1, 2000, neither a visa nor an ELVIS

transmission will be required for products integrated in the second

stage of the integration of textiles and clothing into GATT 1994

from WTO member countries (see directive dated September 30, 1998) A

visa and ELVIS transmission will continue to be required for non-

integrated products.

The visa stamp remains unchanged.

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has

determined that this action falls within the foreign affairs

exception to the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).

Sincerely,

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Merged and Part Categories

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Designation in Conversion

Category Agreement Factor to SME Unit

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Meged Categories..

336 and 636 336/636 37.90 dozen

338 and 339 338/339 6.00 dozen

340 and 640 340/640 20.10 dozen

342 and 642 342/642 14.90 dozen

347 and 348 347/348 14.90 dozen

351 and 651 351/651 43.50 dozen

352 and 652 352/652 11.30 dozen

638 and 639 638/639 12.96 dozen

645 and 646 645/646 30.80 dozen

647 and 648 647/648 14.90 dozen

Part Categories...

369-S Cotton Shop 8.50 kilograms

Towels

369-O Other Cotton 8.50 kilograms

Manufactures

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Bangladeshi Items

These are the items that are uniquely and historically traditional

Bangladeshi products. All these items mentioned in this list are made

from woven fabric. Additional items may be included after consultations

and mutual agreement of both Governments.

Embroidered Kaftan Ankle length loose fitting dress

with embroidery around top and

bottom with side slits of about

18 inches from the lower hem and

with traditional Bangladeshi hand

embroidery or hand batik

printing.

Panjabi This is a men's and boys' shirt

type garment made from cotton or

man-made fabric, plain or

colored, hand embroidered, or

printed, or batik decorated, or

batik printed, without collar and

with half or full sleeve, with

partial front opening with or

without buttons. The tails extend

from finger tip to knee. This is

a typical Muslim ceremonial dress

of Bangladeshi men and boys and

has been used from ancient times

for Muslim festivals.

Bell-Sleeve Evening Blouse A women's garment traditionally

used by Bangladeshi women and

girls for covering upper part of

the body and traditionally worn

under a sari, made from cotton or

man-made fabric, patterned or

plain, embroidered or printed. A

short, tight fitting blouse

ending above the waist with

untapered half sleeve without

collar. This is a women's

folklore blouse, having a long

Bangladeshi tradition.

Salwar Plain or designed or printed,

loose fitting trousers secured

with drawstring or hooks with

legs that are straight or baggy

with extra fullness at the thighs

made from cotton or man-made

fiber fabrics, traditionally worn

with kameez. Must be imported

with a kameez, and, if for women

or girls, with a dopatta.

Kameez Long tunic, untapered, plain or

printed or embroidered, half,

three quarter, or full sleeve,

made from cotton or man-made

fiber fabric traditionally worn

with salwar with length down to

knee level, with partial opening

with button in front or back.

Must be imported with a sawlar,

and, if for women or girls, with

a dopatta.

Dopatta A long scarf measuring from 72 to

120 inches long and 36 to 40

inches wide traditionally worn by

Muslim women or girls in

Bangladesh with salwar and

kameez. Must be imported with a

salwar and kameez.

Lungi A traditional garment worn as

outerwear from waist-down to

ankle, 45 to 50 inches in width

and having a circumference of 70

to 80 inches, in tubular form,

made from cotton or man-made

fiber fabric.

[[Page 71120]]

Borka A loose overall, two piece garment

dress, ankle length, with hood

portion containing veil for

covering face worn by Muslim

women and girls of Bangladesh

when going out of the house. Made

from cotton or man-made fiber of

a solid color, with a full front

opening with buttons.

Kurta A men's or boys' shirt type

garment similar to a panjabi, of

mid-thigh length of cotton or man-

made fiber fabric, with no collar

or a one inch stand up collar,

with full or half sleeves, with a

partial front opening with or

without buttons.

Batwa Small drawstring pouches used by

women and girls for carrying

betel nut and small personal

things. Printed or hand

embroidered.

Nakshi Kantha Traditional hand stitched,

extensively hand embroidered,

wall hanging with a design

depicting rural life or folklore

motifs made from cotton, silk, or

man-made fibers.

Batik Wall Hangings Cut pieces of cotton, silk, or man-

made fiber fabric that have been

printed using the batik process.

[FR Doc. 99-32797 Filed 12-17-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F