[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 219 (Thursday, November 13, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60829-60831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-29780]


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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.

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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, man-made 
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

[[Page 60830]]

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 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.
    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

[[Page 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.                    
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.   
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