Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 57 / Monday, March 25, 2013 / Notices 17923 

COMMITTEE FOR THE 

IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE 

AGREEMENTS 

Determination Under the Textile and 

Apparel Commercial Availability 

Provision of the Dominican RepublicCentral America-United States Free 

Trade Agreement (‘‘CAFTA-DR 

Agreement’’) 

AGENCY: The Committee for the 

Implementation of Textile Agreements. 

ACTION: Determination to add a product 

in unrestricted quantities to Annex 3.25 

of the CAFTA-DR Agreement. 

DATES: Effective Date: March 25, 2013. 

SUMMARY: The Committee for the 

Implementation of Textile Agreements 

(‘‘CITA’’) has determined that certain 

three-thread fleece fabric with soft hand 

pigment, as specified below, is not 

available in commercial quantities in a 

timely manner in the CAFTA-DR 

countries. The product will be added to 

the list in Annex 3.25 of the CAFTA-DR 

Agreement in unrestricted quantities. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Maria Dybczak, Office of Textiles and 

Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

(202) 482–3651. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON– 

LINE: http://web.ita.doc.gov/tacgi/Cafta

ReqTrack.nsf under ‘‘Approved 

Requests,’’ Reference number: 

177.2013.02.21.Fabric.SoriniSametfor

GaranMfg. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority: The CAFTA–DR Agreement; 

Section 203(o)(4) of the Dominican RepublicCentral America-United States Free Trade 

Agreement Implementation Act (‘‘CAFTA– 

DR Implementation Act’’), Pub. Law 109–53; 

the Statement of Administrative Action, 

accompanying the CAFTA–DR 

Implementation Act; and Presidential 

Proclamations 7987 (February 28, 2006) and 

7996 (March 31, 2006). 

Background 

The CAFTA-DR Agreement provides a 

list in Annex 3.25 for fabrics, yarns, and 

fibers that the Parties to the CAFTA-DR 

Agreement have determined are not 

available in commercial quantities in a 

timely manner in the territory of any 

Party. The CAFTA-DR Agreement 

provides that this list may be modified 

pursuant to Article 3.25(4)–(5), when 

the President of the United States 

determines that a fabric, yarn, or fiber is 

not available in commercial quantities 

in a timely manner in the territory of 

any Party. See Annex 3.25 of the 

CAFTA-DR Agreement; see also section 

203(o)(4)(C) of the CAFTA-DR 

Implementation Act. 

The CAFTA-DR Implementation Act 

requires the President to establish 

procedures governing the submission of 

a request and providing opportunity for 

interested entities to submit comments 

and supporting evidence before a 

commercial availability determination is 

made. In Presidential Proclamations 

7987 and 7996, the President delegated 

to CITA the authority under section 

203(o)(4) of CAFTA-DR Implementation 

Act for modifying the Annex 3.25 list. 

Pursuant to this authority, on September 

15, 2008, CITA published modified 

procedures it would follow in 

considering requests to modify the 

Annex 3.25 list of products determined 

to be not commercially available in the 

territory of any Party to CAFTA-DR 

(Modifications to Procedures for 

Considering Requests Under the 

Commercial Availability Provision of 

the Dominican Republic-Central 

America-United States Free Trade 

Agreement, 73 FR 53200) (‘‘CITA’s 

procedures’’). 

On February 21, 2013, the Chairman 

of CITA received a request for a 

Commercial Availability determination 

(‘‘Request’’) from Sorini Samet & 

Associates LLC on behalf of Garan 

Manufacturing, Inc. for certain threethread fleece fabric with soft hand 

pigment, as specified below. On 

February 25, 2013, in accordance with 

CITA’s procedures, CITA notified 

interested parties of the Request, which 

was posted on the dedicated Web site 

for CAFTA-DR Commercial Availability 

proceedings. In its notification, CITA 

advised that any Response with an Offer 

to Supply (‘‘Response’’) must be 

submitted by March 7, 2013, and any 

Rebuttal Comments to a Response must 

be submitted by March 13, 2013, in 

accordance with sections 6 and 7 of 

CITA’s procedures. No interested entity 

submitted a Response to the Request 

advising CITA of its objection to the 

Request and its ability to supply the 

subject product. 

In accordance with section 

203(o)(4)(C) of the CAFTA–DR 

Implementation Act, and section 8(c)(2) 

of CITA’s procedures, as no interested 

entity submitted a Response objecting to 

the Request and providing an offer to 

supply the subject product, CITA has 

determined to add the specified fabric to 

the list in Annex 3.25 of the CAFTA– 

DR Agreement. 

The subject product has been added 

to the list in Annex 3.25 of the CAFTA– 

DR Agreement in unrestricted 

quantities. A revised list has been 

posted on the dedicated Web site for 

CAFTA–DR Commercial Availability 

proceedings. 

Specifications: Certain Three-Thread 

Fleece Fabric With Soft Hand Pigment 

HTS: 6001.21. 

Overall fiber content: Cotton—57 to 

63%; Polyester—37 to 43%. 

Gauge: 21. 

Face Yarn 

Fiber content: 57–63% combed 

cotton; 37–43% polyester ring spun. 

Yarn size: 47.4/1–57.6/1 (metric); 28/ 

1–-34/1 (English). 

Tie Yarn 

Fiber content: 100% polyester. 

Yarn size: 157.9–191.5/48 filament 

(metric); 47–57 denier 48 filament 

(English). 

Fleece Yarn 

Fiber content: 72–78% carded cotton, 

22–28% polyester. 

Yarn Size: 18.6/1–28.8/1(metric); 11/ 

1–17/1 (English). 

Weight: 233.9–267.8 g/square meter 

(6.9–7.8 oz./square yard). 

Width: 152.4 cm cuttable or greater, 

open width (60’’ cuttable or greater, 

open width). 

Finish: Bleached and rotary printed 

with soft hand pigment (process), or 

piece dyed and rotary printed with soft 

hand pigment (process) (see note). 

Performance Criteria 

1. Torque must not exceed 4% (must 

meet AATCC 179). 

2. Vertical and horizontal shrinkage 

must be under 5%. 

3. Must meet a class-1 flammability 

rating. 

Note: The attributes listed for yarn size 

relate to the size of the yarn prior to knitting. 

The measurements for fabric construction 

and weight relate to the fabric prior to 

garment production. Some variations may 

occur in these measurements as a result of 

the manufacturing process. 

Note (Finishing): A soft hand pigment is a 

known industry term. It refers a process 

which involves the use of special binding 

agents, typically acrylic polymers used to 

affix the pigments to fabrics. The bonding 

agents used in soft hand pigment printing 

process have lower glass transition 

temperatures. The glass-transition, or glass 

transition, is the reversible transition in 

amorphous materials (or in amorphous 

regions within semi-crystalline materials) 

from a hard and relatively brittle state into 

a molten or rubber-like state. 

Kim Glas, 

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation 

of Textile Agreements. 

[FR Doc. 2013–06681 Filed 3–22–13; 8:45 am] 

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