[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 30, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67831-67832]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-33915]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Man-
Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile 
Products Produced or Manufactured in India

December 22, 1997.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing 
limits.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1998.


[[Page 67832]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janet Heinzen, 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: Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as 
amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as 
amended.

    The import restraint limits for textile products, produced or 
manufactured in India and exported during the period January 1, 1998 
through December 31, 1998 are based on limits notified to the Textiles 
Monitoring Body pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and 
Clothing (ATC).
    Pursuant to the provisions of the ATC, the second stage of the 
integration commences on January 1, 1998 (see 60 FR 21075, published on 
May 1, 1995). Accordingly, certain previously restrained categories may 
have been modified or eliminated and certain limits may have been 
revised. Integrated products will no longer be subject to quota. CITA 
has informed India of its intent to continue the bilateral visa 
arrangement for those products.
    In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the 
Commissioner of Customs to establish the 1998 limits.
    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 62 FR 66057, published on December 17, 1997. Also see 
62 FR 51832, published on October 3, 1997; and 62 FR 60826, published 
on November 13, 1997.
J. Hayden Boyd,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
December 22, 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, man-made fiber, 
silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products 
in the following categories, produced or manufactured in India 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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Levels in Group I                                                       
218.......................................  14,307,430 square meters.   
219.......................................  66,259,880 square meters.   
313.......................................  38,281,386 square meters.   
314.......................................  7,888,081 square meters.    
315.......................................  13,248,816 square meters.   
317.......................................  40,003,022 square meters.   
326.......................................  9,091,596 square meters.    
334/634...................................  140,994 dozen.              
335/635...................................  627,703 dozen.              
336/636...................................  879,834 dozen.              
338/339...................................  3,939,692 dozen.            
340/640...................................  1,995,483 dozen.            
341.......................................  4,228,602 dozen of which not
                                             more than 2,537,160 dozen  
                                             shall be in Category 341-Y 
                                             \1\.                       
342/642...................................  1,271,100 dozen.            
345.......................................  191,272 dozen.              
347/348...................................  615,384 dozen.              
351/651...................................  268,686 dozen.              
363.......................................  44,711,478 numbers.         
369-D \2\.................................  1,315,188 kilograms.        
369-S \3\.................................  717,375 kilograms.          
641.......................................  1,479,886 dozen.            
647/648...................................  859,356 dozen.              
Group II                                                                
200, 201, 220-227, 237, 239pt. \4\, 300,    112,085,570 square meters   
 301, 331-333, 350, 352, 359pt. \5\, 360-    equivalent.                
 362, 600-604, 606 \6\, 607, 611-629, 631,                              
 633, 638, 639, 643-646, 649, 650, 652,                                 
 659pt. \7\, 666, 669pt. \8\, 670, 831,                                 
 833-838, 840-858 and 859pt. \9\, as a                                  
 group.                                                                 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Category 341-Y: only HTS numbers 6204.22.3060, 6206.30.3010,        
  6206.30.3030 and 6211.42.0054.                                        
\2\ Category 369-D: only HTS numbers 6302.60.0010, 6302.91.0005 and     
  6302.91.0045.                                                         
\3\ Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.                       
\4\ Category 239pt.: only HTS number 6209.20.5040 (diapers).            
\5\ Category 359pt.: all HTS numbers except 6406.99.1550.               
\6\ Category 606: all HTS numbers except 5403.31.0040 (for              
  administrative purposes Category 606 is designated as 606(1)).        
\7\ Category 659pt.: all HTS numbers except 6406.99.1510 and            
  6406.99.1540.                                                         
\8\ Category 669pt.: all HTS numbers except 5601.10.2000, 5601.22.0090, 
  5607.49.3000, 5607.50.4000 and 6406.10.9040.                          
\9\ Category 859pt.: only HTS numbers 6115.19.8040, 6117.10.6020,       
  6212.10.5030, 6212.10.9040, 6212.20.0030, 6212.30.0030, 6212.90.0090, 
  6214.10.2000 and 6214.90.0090.                                        

    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 December 20, 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.
    Products for integration in 1998 listed in the Federal Register 
notice published on May 1, 1995 (60 FR 21075) which are exported 
during 1997 shall be charged to the applicable limits to the extent 
of any unfilled balances. After January 1, 1998, should those 
unfilled balances be exhausted, such products shall no longer be 
charged to any limit, due to integration of these products into GATT 
1994.
    CITA has informed India of its intent to continue the bilateral 
visa arrangement for those products. An export visa will continue to 
be required, if applicable, for products integrated on and after 
January 1, 1998, before entry is permitted 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 
exception of the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).
    Sincerely,
J. Hayden Boyd,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.
[FR Doc. 97-33915 Filed 12-29-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F