[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 228 (Monday, November 25, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59865-59866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-30048]
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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS
Announcement of Import Restraint Limits and Guaranteed Access
Levels for Certain Cotton, Wool and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products
Produced or Manufactured in Honduras
November 19, 1996.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).
ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing
import limits and guaranteed access levels.
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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Aldrich, 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 or call (202) 927-5850. For information on
embargoes and quota re-openings, call (202) 482-3715.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority: Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended;
section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C.
1854); Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
The import restraint limits for textile products, produced or
manufactured in Honduras and exported during the period January 1, 1997
through December 31, 1997, are based on limits notified to the Textiles
Monitoring Body pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act and the
Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). The Guaranteed
Access Levels are being established pursuant to a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) dated September 15, 1995 between the Governments of
the United States and Honduras.
In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the
Commissioner of Customs to establish the 1997 limits and guaranteed
access levels.
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 60 FR 65299, published on December 19, 1995).
Information regarding the 1997 CORRELATION will be published in the
Federal Register at a later date.
Requirements for participation in the Special Access Program are
available in Federal Register notices 51 FR 21208, published on June
11, 1986; 52 FR 26057, published on July 10, 1987; 54 FR 50425,
published on December 6, 1989; 61 FR 38236, published on July 23, 1996,
and 61 FR 49439, published on September 20, 1996.
The letter to the Commissioner of Customs and the actions taken
pursuant to it are not designed to implement all of the provisions of
the MOU, the Uruguay Round Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round
Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, but are designed to assist only in
the implementation of certain of their provisions.
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile
Agreements.
Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
November 19, 1996.
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), the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and
Clothing (ATC); 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, 1997, entry into the United States
for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of
cotton, wool and man-made fiber textile products in the following
categories, produced or manufactured in Honduras and exported during
the period beginning on January 1, 1997 and extending through
December 31, 1997, in excess of the following restraint limits:
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Category Twelve-month limit
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352/652................................... 10,674,200 dozen of which
not more than 7,865,200
dozen shall be in
Categories 352-K/652-K \1\.
435....................................... 14,982 dozen.
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\1\ Category 352-K: only HTS numbers 6107.11.0010, 6107.11.0020,
6108.19.9010, 6108.21.0010, 6108.21.0020, 6108.91.0005, 6108.91.0015,
6108.91.0025, 6109.10.0005, 6109.10.0007, 6109.10.0009, 6109.10.0037;
Category 652-K: 6107.12.0010, 6107.12.0020, 6108.11.0010,
6108.11.0020, 6108.22.9020, 6108.22.9030, 6108.92.0005, 6108.92.0015,
6108.92.0025, 6109.90.1047 and 6109.90.1075.
Imports charged to these category limits for the period January
1, 1996 through December 31, 1996 shall be charged against those
levels of restraint to the extent of any unfilled balances. In the
event the limits established for that period have been exhausted by
previous entries, such goods shall be subject to the levels set
forth in this directive.
The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment in the
future according to the provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements
Act, the ATC and any administrative arrangements notified to the
Textiles Monitoring Body.
Additionally, pursuant to the Special Access Program, as set
forth in 51 FR 21208 (June 11, 1986), 52 FR 26057 (July 10, 1987),
54 FR 50425 (December 6, 1989), 61 FR 49439 (September 20, 1996),
effective on January 1, 1997, guaranteed access levels are being
established for properly certified textile products assembled in
Honduras from fabric formed and cut in the United States in textile
products in the following categories which are re-exported to the
United States from Honduras during the period January 1, 1997
through December 31, 1997 in the following amounts:
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Category Guaranteed Access Level
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352/652................................... 50,000,000 dozen.
435....................................... 35,000 dozen.
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Any shipment for entry under the Special Access Program which is
not accompanied by a valid and correct certification and Export
Declaration in accordance with the provisions of the certification
requirements established in the directive of July 18, 1996 shall be
denied entry unless the Government of the Republic of Honduras
authorizes the entry and any charges to the appropriate specific
limit. Any shipment which is declared for entry under the Special
Access Program but found not to qualify shall be denied entry into
the United States.
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
[[Page 59866]]
exception of the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).
Sincerely,
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
[FR Doc.96-30048 Filed 11-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F