[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 225 (Friday, November 21, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62290-62291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-30570]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Consultations With the 
Government of Cambodia

November 17, 1997.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Notice.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Helen L. LeGrande, International Trade 
Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, (202) 482-4212. For information on categories for which 
consultations have been requested, call (202) 482-3740.

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.

    On October 29, 1997, under Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 
1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854), the Government of the United States 
requested consultations with the Government of Cambodia with respect to 
cotton and man-made fiber gloves and mittens in Categories 331/631, 
produced or manufactured in Cambodia.
    The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no 
solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of 
Cambodia, the Government of the United States may later establish a 
limit for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of 
cotton textile products in Categories 331/631, produced or manufactured 
in Cambodia and exported during the twelve-month period which began on 
October 29, 1997 and extends through October 28, 1998, at a level of 
not less than 1,250,841 dozen pairs.
    A statement of serious damage, actual threat of serious damage or 
the exacerbation of serious damage concerning Categories 331/631 
follows this notice.
    Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding 
the treatment of Categories 331/631 or to comment on domestic 
production or availability of products included in

[[Page 62291]]

Categories 331/631 is invited to submit 10 copies of such comments or 
information to Troy H. Cribb, Chairman, Committee for the 
Implementation of Textile Agreements, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
Washington, DC 20230; ATTN: Helen L. LeGrande. The comments received 
will be considered in the context of the consultations with the 
Government of Cambodia.
    Because the exact timing of the consultations is not yet certain, 
comments should be submitted promptly. Comments or information 
submitted in response to this notice will be available for public 
inspection in the Office of Textiles and Apparel, room H3100, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC.
    Further comments may be invited regarding particular commentary or 
information received from the public which the Committee for the 
Implementation of Textile Agreements considers appropriate for further 
consideration.
    The solicitation of comments regarding any aspect of the 
implementation of an agreement is not a waiver in any respect of the 
exemption contained in 5 U.S.C.553(a)(1) relating to matters which 
constitute ``a foreign affairs function of the United States.''
    The United States remains committed to finding a solution 
concerning Categories 331/631. Should such a solution be reached in 
consultations with the Government of Cambodia, further notice will be 
published in the Federal Register.
    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 61 FR 66263, published on December 17, 1996).
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.

Summary of the Statement in Support of Request for Consultations Under 
Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956
Cotton and Manmade Fiber Gloves and Mittens--Category 331/631
October 1997
Import Situation and Conclusion
    U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber gloves and mittens, 
Category 331/631, from Cambodia surged to 1,250,841 dozen pair during 
the year ending July 1997, over seven times the 176,732 dozen pair 
imported in the year ending July 1996 and more than 15 times the 79,968 
dozen pair imported in calendar year 1995. Imports from Cambodia were 
2.6 percent of total U.S. imports of Category 331/631 in the year 
ending July 1997, and were equivalent to 4.9 percent of U.S. production 
of Category 331/631 in 1996.
    U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber gloves and mittens, 
Category 331/631, from Cambodia entered the U.S. at an average landed 
duty-paid value of $3.12 per dozen pair during the first seven months 
of 1997, 42 percent below the average landed duty-paid value for all 
cotton and manmade fiber glove and mitten imports into the U.S., and 70 
percent below the average U.S. producers' price for cotton and manmade 
fiber gloves and mittens.
    The sharp and substantial increase of low-valued Category 331/631 
imports from Cambodia threatens to cause disruption to the U.S. cotton 
and manmade fiber glove and mitten market and to the orderly flow of 
trade in these products. In several instances, Cambodia's import level 
for the year ending July 1997 exceeds the trade levels of WTO countries 
that have quota agreements with the United States.
U.S. Production, Import Penetration, and Market Share
    U.S. production of cotton and manmade fiber gloves and mittens, 
Category 331/631, declined in 1996 falling to 25,424,000 dozen pair, 1 
percent below the 1995 production level. Imports of Category 331/631 
increased from 45,559,773 dozen pair in 1995 to 47,336,957 dozen pair 
in 1996, a 4 percent increase. Imports continued to increase reaching 
48,220,877 dozen pair in the year ending July 1997, 7 percent above the 
same period a year earlier.
    The ratio of imports to domestic production increased to 186 
percent in 1996. The domestic manufacturers share of the U.S. market 
for cotton and manmade fiber gloves and mittens decreased to 33 percent 
in 1996.
[FR Doc. 97-30570 Filed 11-20-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F