[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 233 (Monday, December 4, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75673-75674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-30799]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Announcement of Import Restraint Limits and Guaranteed Access 
Levels for Certain Cotton, Wool and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products 
Produced or Manufactured in Guatemala

November 28, 2000.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing 
import limits and guaranteed access levels.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naomi Freeman, 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, call (202) 927-5850, or refer to the U.S. Customs 
website at http://www.customs.gov. 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 and Guaranteed Access Levels (GALS) for 
textile products, produced or manufactured in Guatemala and exported 
during the period January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001 are based 
on limits notified to the Textiles Monitoring Body pursuant to the 
Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC).
    In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the 
Commissioner of Customs to establish limits and guaranteed access 
levels for 2001.
    These specific limits and guaranteed access levels do not apply to 
goods that qualify for quota-free entry under the Trade and Development 
Act of 2000.
    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 64 FR 71982, published on December 22, 1999). 
Information regarding the 2001 CORRELATION will be published in the 
Federal Register at a later date.
    Requirements for participation in the Special Access Program are 
available in Federal Register notice 63 FR 16474, published on April 3, 
1998.

Richard B. Steinkamp,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

November 28, 2000.

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, 2001, entry into the United States for consumption and 
withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton, wool and man-
made fiber textile products in the following categories, produced or 
manufactured in Guatemala and exported during the period beginning 
on January 1, 2001 and extending through December 31, 2001, in 
excess of the following levels of restraint:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Category                   Twelve-month restraint limit
------------------------------------------------------------------------
340/640...................................  1,796,578 dozen.
347/348...................................  2,151,195 dozen.
351/651...................................  378,978 dozen.
443.......................................  74,619 numbers.
448.......................................  46,753 dozen.
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    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 2000 shall be 
charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see 
directive dated October 4, 1999) 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.
    Also pursuant to the ATC, and under the terms of the Special 
Access Program, as set forth in 63 FR 16474 (April 3, 1998), 
effective on January 1, 2001, you are directed to establish 
guaranteed access levels for

[[Page 75674]]

properly certified textile products in the following categories 
which are assembled in Guatemala from fabric formed and cut in the 
United States and re-exported to the United States from Guatemala 
during the period January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Category                      Guaranteed access Level
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340/640...................................  520,000 dozen.
347/348...................................  1,000,000 dozen.
351/651...................................  200,000 dozen.
443.......................................  25,000 numbers.
448.......................................  42,000 dozen.
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    Any shipment for entry under the Special Access Program which is 
not accompanied by a valid and correct certification in accordance 
with the provisions of the certification requirements established in 
the directive of January 24, 1990 (55 FR 3079), as amended, shall be 
denied entry unless the Government of Guatemala authorizes the entry 
and any charges to the appropriate specific limit. Any shipment 
which is declared for entry under the Special Access Program but 
found not to qualify shall be denied entry into the United States.
    These specific limits and guaranteed access levels do not apply 
to goods that qualify for quota-free entry under the Trade and 
Development Act of 2000.
    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,

Richard B. Steinkamp,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

[FR Doc. 00-30799 Filed 12-01-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F