Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 219 / Thursday, November 13, 1997 / Notices 60829

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).

Information regarding the 1998

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

November 6, 1997.

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, 1998, entry into the

United States for consumption and

withdrawal from warehouse for consumption

of cotton and man-made fiber textile

products in the following categories,

produced or manufactured in Qatar and

exported during the twelve-month period

beginning on January 1, 1998 and extending

through December 31, 1998, in excess of the

following levels of restraint:

Category Twelve-month restraint

limit

340/640 .................... 436,033 dozen.

341/641 .................... 201,246 dozen.

347/348 .................... 496,407 dozen.

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.

Products in the above categories exported

during 1997 shall be charged to the

applicable category limits for that year (see

directive dated November 7, 1996) 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.

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 to 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. 97–29897 Filed 11–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DR–F

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 Thailand

November 6, 1997.

AGENCY: Committee for the

Implementation of Textile Agreements

(CITA).

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the

Commissioner of Customs consolidating

and amending visa requirements.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross

Arnold, International Trade Specialist,

Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S.

Department of Commerce, (202) 482–

4212.

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.

In exchange of notes, the

Governments of the United States and

Thailand agreed to amend the existing

visa arrangement for textile products,

produced or manufactured in Thailand

and exported on and after January 1,

1998. The amended arrangement

consolidates existing and new

provisions of the export visa

arrangement, including provisions for

the Electronic Visa Information System

(ELVIS). In addition to the ELVIS

requirements, shipments will continue

to be accompanied by an original visa

stamped on the front of the original

commercial invoice issued by the

Government of Thailand. Goods which

currently require an exempt certificate

shall not require an ELVIS transmission,

but will continue to require the exempt

certificate.

In the letter published below, the

Chairman of CITA directs the

Commissioner of Customs to amend the

existing visa requirements for textile

products produced or manufactured in

Thailand and exported on and after

January 1, 1998.

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). Also

see 42 Fr 5994, published on February

1, 1977; and 57 FR 2713, published on

January 23, 1992.

Interested persons are advised to take

all necessary steps to ensure that textile

products that are 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

November 6, 1997.

Commissioner of Customs,

Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC

20229.

Dear Commissioner: This directive

amends, but does not cancel, the directive

issued to you on January 16, 1992, by the

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation

of Textile Agreements, that directed you to

prohibit entry of certain cotton, wool, manmade fiber, silk blend and other vegetable

fiber textiles and textile products, produced

or manufactured in Thailand for which the

Government of Thailand has not issued an

appropriate export visa or exempt

certification.

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 Agreements Act, the Uruguay Round

Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC)

and the Export Visa Arrangement, effected by

exchange of notes between the Governments

of the United States and Thailand; 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, 1998, 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 and 800–899, including part categories

and merged categories (see Annex A),

produced or manufactured in Thailand and

exported on and after January 1, 1998 for

which the Government of Thailand has not

issued an appropriate export visa and

Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS)

transmission or exempt certification fully

described below. Should additional

categories, part categories or merged

categories become subject to import quota 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 commercial

shipment of the aforementioned textile

products. A circular stamped marking in blue

ink will appear on the front of the original

commercial invoice or its successor

document. The original visa shall not be
60830 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 219 / Thursday, November 13, 1997 / Notices

stamped on duplicate copies of the invoice.

The original invoice with the original visa

stamp will be required to enter the shipment

into the United States. Duplicates of the

invoice and/or visa may not be used for this

purpose.

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 country code specified

by the International Organization for

Standardization (ISO) (the code for Thailand

is ‘‘TH’’), and a six digit numeric serial

number identifying the shipment; e.g.,

8TH123456. Typewritten letters and numbers

may be used in the visa seal instead of

handwritten letters and numbers.

2.The date of issuance. The date of

issuance shall be the day, month and year on

which the visa was issued, which could be

the year after the actual date the merchandise

leaves the country of exportation. However,

the date of export and the year of the visa

must agree. For example, if the date of export

is 1997, the visa number must begin with

‘‘7TH,’’ even though the date of issuance is

1998.

3.The original signature of the issuing

official of the Royal Thai Government.

4.The correct category(s), merged

category(s), part category(s), quantity(s) and

unit(s) of quantity in the shipment in the

unit(s) of quantity provided for in the

bilateral agreement shall be reported in the

spaces provided within the visa stamp (e.g.,

‘‘Cat. 434–210 DZ’’).

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 (e.g., quota Category 359–H/

659–H may be visaed as 359–H/659–H or if

the shipment consists solely of Category 359–

H merchandise, the shipment may be visaed

as ‘‘Category 359–H,’’ but not as ‘‘Category

659–H’’). If, however, a merged quota

category such as 625/626/627/628/629 has a

quota sublimit on Category 625, then there

must be a ‘‘Cat. 625’’ visa for the shipment

if it includes Category 625.

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 or illegible, or have been crossed

out or altered in any way. If the quantity

indicated on the visa is less than that of the

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.

If the visa is not acceptable then a new visa

must be obtained from the Government of

Thailand or a visa waiver may be issued by

the U.S. Department of Commerce at the

request of the Embassy of Thailand in

Washington, DC., 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. 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 a

certified copy of that visaed invoice for use

in obtaining a new correct original visaed

invoice, or a visa waiver.

If a shipment from Thailand has been

allowed entry into the commerce of the

United States with either an incorrect visa or

no visa, and redelivery is requested but

cannot be made, the shipment will be

charged to the correct category limit whether

or not a replacement visa or waiver is

provided.

ELVIS Requirements:

An ELVIS transmission as well as an

export visa is required for each non-exempt

entry subject to this directive.

A. Each ELVIS message will include the

following information:

I.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 country code specified

by the International Organization for

Standardization (ISO) (the code for Thailand

is ‘‘TH’’), and a six digit numeric serial

number identifying the shipment; e.g.,

8TH123456.

II.The date of issuance. The date of

issuance shall be the day, month and year on

which the visa was issued, which could be

the year after the actual date the merchandise

leaves the country of exportation. However,

the date of export and the year of the visa

number must agree. For example, if the date

of export is 1997, the visa number must begin

with ‘‘7TH,’’ even though the date of

issuance is 1998.

III.The correct category(s), merged

category(s), part category(s), quantity(s) and

unit(s) of quantity in the shipment as set

forth 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 ‘‘TH,’’ 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.

However, due to the absence of an official

English language address conversion in

Thailand, the Government of Thailand shall

provide the most accurate MID number

possible to the U.S. Customs Service. The

U.S. Government understands and

acknowledges that the MID number is highly

sensitive and should be kept confidential for

official use only. The MID number is not to

be released to third parties without prior

written consent by the Government of

Thailand.

B. Entry of a shipment shall not be

permitted:

I.if an ELVIS transmission has not been

received for the shipment from Thailand;

II.if the ELVIS transmission for that

shipment is missing any of the following:

a. visa number

b. category, part category or merged

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 or the Customs

Broker acting as an agent on behalf of the

importer, with regard to any of the following:

a. visa number

b. category, part category or merged

category

c. unit of measure

d. manufacturer ID number

IV.if the quantity being entered is greater

than the quantity transmitted.

V.if the visa number has previously been

used, or canceled, except in the case of a split

shipment or if any entry has already been

made using the visa number.

C. A new, correct ELVIS transmission from

the country of origin is required before a

shipment that has been denied entry for one

of the circumstances mentioned in paragraph

B.I–V will be released.

D. Visa waivers will only be considered for

circumstances described in paragraph B.I, if

the shipment qualifies as a one time special

purpose shipment that is not part of an

ongoing commercial enterprise or for

legitimate classification disputes.

E. Shipments will not be released for fortyeight 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.

If a shipment from Thailand has been

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

cannot be made, and if the Government of

Thailand does not issue a visa or ELVIS

transmission or request a visa waiver (if

applicable), the shipment will be charged to

the correct category limit whether or not a

replacement visa or visa waiver is provided

or a new ELVIS tansmission is transmitted.

Exempt certification requirements:

A.The exempt certification system

established in a directive dated January 26,

1977, as amended, which exempts handmade

cottage industry products of handloomed

fabric, and an agreed list of Thai traditional

folklore products, shall be continued

unchanged, except for the following:

1.The exemption for all items valued at

U.S.$250 or less shall not be continued.

2. Handloomed fabrics produced in

Thailand may be certified as exempt.

3.The exemption for handknotted/tufted

carpets shall be clarified to be for ‘‘handmade

carpets,’’ (i.e., carpets in which the pile was

inserted/knotted by hand in HTS numbers

5701.10.1600 (Category 465), 5701.10.4000

(Category 465), 5702.42.2020 (Category 665),

5702.49.1020 (Category 369); and

5703.20.1000 (Category 665)).

B.Textiles and textile articles provided for

in the exempt certification system ae exempt
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 219 / Thursday, November 13, 1997 / Notices 60831

from the levels of restraint (quotas), and visa

and ELVIS requirements if they are properly

certified, prior to the shipment leaving

Thailand.

Other Provisions:

Merchandise imported for the personal use

of the importer and not for resale, regardless

of value, and properly marked commercial

sample shipments valued at U.S. $250 or less

do not require a visa or ELVIS transmission

for entry and shall not be charged to

agreement levels.

Any shipment which is not accompanied

by a valid and correct visa with an 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

Thailand authorizes the entry and any

charges to the agreement levels.

The actions taken concerning the

Government of Thailand with respect to

imports of textiles and textile products in the

foregoing categories have been determined by

the Committee for the Implementation of

Textile Agreements to involve foreign affairs

functions of the United States. Therefore,

these directions to the Commissioner of

Customs, which are necessary for the

implementation of such actions, fall within

the foreign affairs exception to the

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

This letter will be published in the Federal

Register.

Sincerely,

Troy H. Cribb,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation

of Textile Agreements.

Annex A

Part Categories (Descriptions below are for

general reference only.)

301–P Chief weight cotton

combed yarn, less than 85

percent cotton: only HTS

numbers 5206.21.0000,

5206.22.0000,

5206.23.0000,

5206.24.0000,

5206.25.0000,

5206.41.0000,

5206.42.0000,

5206.43.0000,

5206.44.0000 and

5206.45.0000.

Annex A—Continued

301–O Chief weight cotton

combed yarn, 85 percent

or more cotton: only HTS

numbers 5205.21.0020,

5205.21.0090,

5205.22.0020,

5205.22.0090,

5205.23.0020,

5205.23.0090,

5205.24.0020,

5205.24.0090,

5205.26.0020,

5205.26.0090,

5205.27.0020,

5205.27.0090,

5205.28.0020,

5205.28.0090,

5205.41.0020,

5205.41.0090,

5205.42.0020,

5205.42.0090,

5205.43.0020,

5205.43.0090,

5205.44.0020,

5205.44.0090,

5205.46.0020,

5205.46.0090,

5205.47.0020,

5205.47.0090,

5205.48.0020 and

5205.48.0090.

359–H Cotton headwear: only

HTS numbers

6505.90.1540 and

6505.90.2060.

359–O Other cotton apparel, not

elsewhere specified: all

HTS numbers except those

in Category 359–H.

369–D Cotton dish towels: only

HTS numbers

6302.60.0010,

6302.91.0005 and

6302.91.0045.

369–S Cotton shop towels: only

HTS number

6307.10.2005.

369–O Other cotton made-ups, not

elsewhere specified: all

HTS numbers except those

in Category 369–D and

Category 369–S.

604–A Piled acrylic spun yarn:

only HTS number

5509.32.0000.

604–O Other staple fiber yarn, 85

percent or more synthetic:

all HTS numbers except

those in Category 604–A.

659–H Man-made fiber headwear:

only HTS numbers

6502.00.9030,

6504.00.9015,

6504.00.9060,

6505.90.5090,

6505.90.6090,

6505.90.7090 and

6505.90.8090.

Annex A—Continued

659–O Other man-made fiber apparel, not elsewhere specified: all HTS numbers except those in Category

659–H.

669–P Man-made fiber bags: only

HTS numbers

6305.32.0010,

6305.32.0020,

6305.33.0010,

6305.33.0020 and

6305.39.0000.

669–O Other man-made fiber

manufactures, NSPF: all

HTS numbers except those

in Category 669–P.

Merged Categories and Subcategories

317/326

331/631

334/634

335/635/835

336/636

338/339

341/641

342/642

347/348/847

351/651

359–H/659–H

613/614/615 (Subcategories 614 and 613/

615)

625/626/627/628/629 (Subcategory 625)

638/639

645/646

647/648

[FR Doc. 97–29780 Filed 11–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DR–F

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING

COMMISSION

Chicago Board of Trade Futures

Contracts in Corn and Soybeans;

Order To Change and To Supplement

Delivery Specifications

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading

Commission.

ACTION: Final order to Chicago Board of

Trade to change and to supplement

delivery specifications.

SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures

Trading Commission (Commission) is

issuing an Order to the Board of Trade

of the City of Chicago (CBT), under

Section 5a(a)(10) of the Commodity

Exchange Act (Act), 7 U.S.C. 7a(a)(10),

to change and to supplement the

delivery terms of the CBT corn and

soybean futures contracts. The CBT

submitted proposed changes to the

delivery specifications of its corn and

soybean futures contracts in response to

a December 19, 1996, notification to the

CBT by the Commission that the CBT

corn and soybean futures contracts no

longer accomplish the objectives of that

section of the Act. The Commission in