Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 1997 / Notices 15465

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Holiday Inn located at 8777 Georgia

Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim

Blankenbeker, (301) 713-2276.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section

to ICCAT will meet in open session to

discuss (1) the 1996 ICCAT meeting

accomplishments, (2) 1997 management

and research activities regarding

Atlantic highly migratory species, (3)

trade and compliance issues, (4) the

results of the Committee’s species

working groups meetings, (5)

implementation of provisions of the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act, and

(6) other matters relating to the

international management of ICCAT

species. While the public will have

access to the open sessions of the

meeting, there will be no opportunity

for public comment. Sessions of the

Advisory Committee’s Species Working

Groups will not be open to the public

but the results of those discussions will

be reported to the full Advisory

Committee during the Committee’s open

session in the afternoon of April 24. In

addition, the Advisory Committee will

meet in closed session the morning of

April 24 to discuss internal operational

matters. Accordingly, the determination

has been made that the Committee shall

go into executive session at that time.

The meeting locations are physically

accessible to people with disabilities.

Requests for sign language

interpretation or other auxiliary aids

should be directed to Kim Blankenbeker

at (301) 713–2276 at least 5 days prior

to the meeting date.

Dated: May 26, 1997.

Bruce Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–8119 Filed 3–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

COMMITTEE FOR THE

IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE

AGREEMENTS

Consolidation and Amendment of

Export Visa Requirements to Include

the Electronic Visa Information System

for Certain Silk Apparel, Cotton, Wool,

Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other

Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile

Products Produced or Manufactured in

the People’s Republic of China

March 27, 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: April 1, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jennifer Aldrich, 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).

In a Memorandum of Understanding

dated February 1, 1997, the

Governments of the United States and

the People’s Republic of China agreed to

amend the existing visa arrangements

for silk apparel and textile products,

produced or manufactured in China and

exported on and after April 1, 1997. The

amended arrangement consolidates

existing provisions and new 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 the People’s

Republic of China.

In the letter published below, the

Chairman of CITA directs the

Commissioner of Customs to amend the

existing visa requirements for silk

apparel and textile products, produced

or manufactured in China and exported

on and after April 1, 1997.

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 66263,

published on December 17, 1996). Also

see 59 FR 35324, published on July 11,

1994; and 60 FR 22567, published on

May 8, 1995.

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

March 27, 1997.

Commissioner of Customs,

Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC

20229.

Dear Commissioner: This directive

amends, but does not cancel, the directives

issued to you on July 5, 1994, as amended,

and May 3, 1995, as amended, by the

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation

of Textile Agreements, that directed you to

prohibit entry of certain silk apparel, cotton,

wool, man-made fiber, silk blend and other

vegetable fiber textiles and textile products,

produced or manufactured in China for

which the Government of the People’s

Republic of China has not issued an

appropriate export visa.

Under the terms of section 204 of the

Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7

U.S.C. 1854); pursuant to a Memorandum of

Understanding dated February 1, 1997,

between the Governments of the United

States and the People’s Republic of China;

and in accordance with the provisions of

Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as

amended, you are directed to prohibit,

effective on April 1, 1997, 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; and silk apparel in

Categories 733–736, 738–748, 750–752 and

758–759, produced or manufactured in China

and exported on and after April 1, 1997 for

which the Government of the People’s

Republic of China has not issued an

appropriate export visa or Electronic Visa

Information System (ELVIS) transmission

fully described below. Should additional

categories, part categories or merged

categories be added to the bilateral agreement

or 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

textile export license/commercial invoice or

successor document. The license will be

printed on a colored guilloche patterned

background. The original visa shall not be

stamped on duplicate copies of the invoice.
15466 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 1997 / Notices

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 the

People’s Republic of China is ‘‘CN’’), and a

six digit numerical serial number identifying

the shipment; e.g., 7CN123456.

2.The date of issuance. The date of

issuance shall be the day, month and year on

which the visa was issued.

3.The original signature of the issuing

official of the Government of the People’s

Republic of China.

4.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 (HTS or

successor documents) shall be reported in the

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

‘‘Cat. 340–510 DOZ’’).

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., Categories 347/348

may be visaed as 347/348 or if the shipment

consists solely of Category 347 merchandise,

the shipment may be visaed as ‘‘Category

347,’’ but not as ‘‘Category 348’’).

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 the

People’s Republic of China, replacement visa

issued by the Embassy of the People’s

Republic of China in Washington, DC, or a

visa waiver may be issued by the U.S.

Department of Commerce at the request of

the Embassy of the People’s Republic of

China 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. It does not

waive the quota requirement. Visa waivers

will only be issued for legitimate

classification disputes between the

Governments of the People’s Republic of

China and the United States of America or for

one-time special purpose shipments that are

not part of an ongoing commercial enterprise.

Replacement visas shall consist of a textile

export visa/invoice form bearing an official

Chinese Embassy embossed stamp on the

front and include the standard information

required on an export visa and the signature

of an official authorized by the Government

of the People’s Republic of China to issue

replacement visas. The signature must match

one of two original signatures of authorized

officials provided to the United States

Government by the Government of the

People’s Republic of China. The U.S.

Customs Service will not permit entry of the

shipment if any of the information required

on the replacement visa is missing, incorrect

or illegible, or has been crossed out or altered

in any way.

If the visaed invoice is deficient, the U.S.

Customs Service will not return the original

document after entry, but will provide the

importer a certified copy of that visaed

invoice or visa waiver. For particular cases,

upon written request by the Government of

the People’s Republic of China, the U.S.

Customs Service will provide the original

visa for China.

If a shipment from the People’s Republic

of China has been allowed entry into the

commerce of the United States with incorrect

documentation, 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:

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 China is

‘‘CN’’), and a six digit numerical serial

number identifying the shipment; e.g.,

7CN123456.

II.The date of issuance. The date of

issuance shall be the day, month and year on

which the visa was issued.

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 (HTS 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 ‘‘CN,’’ 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.

B. Entry of a shipment shall not be

permitted:

I.if an ELVIS transmission has not been

received for the shipment from China;

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 with regard to any

of the following:

a. visa number

b. category or part category or merged

category

c. unit of measure

d. quantity

IV.if the quantity being entered is greater

than the quantity transmitted.

V.if the visa number has previously been

used, except in the case of a split shipment,

or cancelled, except when an entry has been

made using the visa number.

C. A new, correct ELVIS transmission from

China is required before a shipment that has

been denied entry for one of the

circumstances mentioned in paragraph 3.B.I–

V will be released.

D. A new, correct ELVIS transmission from

China is required for entries made using a

visa waiver under the procedures as

previously described. Visa waivers will only

be considered for paragraph 3.B.I., if the

shipment qualifies as a one-time special

purpose shipment that is not part of an

ongoing commercial enterprise, or 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.

The People’s Republic of China will

retransmit all visa information not

transmitted during the failure once the

system becomes operational. If there is a visa

or visas that are not on file in the system or

do not match information on the file after retransmission, the U.S. will give prompt

notice of detailed information to China for

verification, a demand for redelivery should

be made.

ELVIS transmission will be stopped on

Saturdays, Sundays and Chinese holidays,

which should not be considered as system

failures.

F.The U.S. Customs Service will confirm

daily the receipt of the visa transmission by

China and provide China (the Ministry of

Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation)

with a daily electronic message report on visa

utilization which is accessible at any time for

any quantities. This electronic message for

each specific visa will contain:

a. visa number

b. category number

c. unit of measurement

d. quantity charged to quota

e. entry number

G.If a shipment from China is 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 after the Government of

the People’s Republic of China 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, visa

waiver or new ELVIS message is transmitted.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 1997 / Notices 15467

Should either party disagree on such quota

charge, both parties agree to hold technical

consultation for verification on categories

and quantities charged upon request of the

party.

4. Other Requirements:

A.The complete name and address of a

company actually involved in the

manufacturing process of the textile product

covered by the visa shall be provided on the

textile visa document.

B. Merchandise imported for the personal

use of the importer and not for resale,

regardless of value; properly marked

commercial sample shipments valued at U.S.

$250 or less; and mutually agreed exempt

items certified as exempt by the Government

of the People’s Republic of China do not

require a visa or an ELVIS transmission for

entry.

The visa stamp remains unchanged.

The actions taken concerning the

Government of the People’s Republic of

China with respect to imports of silk apparel,

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.

[FR Doc. 97–8239 Filed 3–28–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DR–F

CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Availability of Funds for Training and

Technical Assistance for the Seniors

for Schools Initiative

AGENCY: Corporation for National and

Community Service.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

SUMMARY: The Corporation for National

and Community Service (‘‘Corporation’’)

announces the availability of up to

$350,000 to provide training and

technical assistance to programs that

receive grants under the Corporation’s

Seniors for Schools Initiative. The

purpose of the initiative is to mobilize

the time, talent, experience, and

resources of seniors to tutor and mentor

public school children in kindergarten

through third grade. The initiative will

(1) build on the experience of the Foster

Grandparent Program and the Retired

and Senior Volunteer Program; and (2)

recruit adults over the age of 55, without

regard to their economic status, to work

in teams with young children in a

variety of roles, including helping them

to read independently by the end of the

third grade.

DATES: All applications must be

received by 6 p.m. Eastern Standard

Time, May 15, 1997. Facsimiles will not

be accepted. All applicants must be able

to provide training and technical

assistance to the selected programs,

beginning on July 1, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Interested organizations

may request application materials by

writing to the Corporation for National

and Community Service, Attn.: Tess

Scannell, Room 9201, 1201 New York

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20525.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further

information, contact Tess Scannell at

(202) 606–5000, ext. 190. This notice

may be requested in an alternative

format for the visually impaired.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Corporation is a federal

government corporation that encourages

Americans of all ages and backgrounds

to engage in community-based service.

This service addresses the nation’s

educational, public safety,

environmental, and other human needs

to achieve direct and demonstrable

results. In supporting service programs,

the Corporation fosters civic

responsibility, strengthens the ties that

bind us together as a people, and

provides educational opportunity for

those who make a substantial

commitment to service.

On August 27, 1996, President

Clinton announced the America Reads

Challenge, which includes a vital

national service component. The goal of

this campaign is to ensure that every

child can read independently by the end

of the third grade. To achieve this goal,

the President has called for a substantial

increase in the number of tutors and

mentors available to young children.

Under the National and Community

Service Act of 1990, as amended, 42

U.S.C. 12501 et seq., the Corporation

may ‘‘support innovative and model

programs.’’ Under this statutory

authority, the Corporation intends to

meet the America Reads Challenge by

adopting the goals of this initiative and

helping to mobilize thousands of

volunteers to serve as tutors. One of the

Corporation’s efforts will be the Seniors

for Schools Initiative, which will

involve recruiting men and women over

the age of 55, without regard to their

economic status, to work in teams and

make a significant commitment to help

children learn to read. This initiative

will build on the experience of the

Foster Grandparent Program and Retired

and Senior Volunteer Program—

programs that have worked extensively

with children in school settings for

many years. The Corporation intends to

fund eight to ten programs, each

implementing the Seniors for Schools

Initiative in a different community.

To support the Seniors for Schools

programs, the Corporation intends to

enter into a cooperative agreement with

an organization to provide training and

technical assistance that strengthens the

programs’ performance and

effectiveness. Through this notice, the

Corporation invites applications from

organizations that wish to be considered

for the training and technical assistance

award.

Eligible Applicants

Public agencies (including federal,

state, and local agencies and other units

of government); non-profit organizations

(including youth-serving groups, groups

that serve older persons, communitybased organizations, service

organizations, etc.); institutions of

higher education; Indian tribes; and forprofit companies are eligible to apply.

Organizations may apply to provide

training and technical assistance in

partnership with organizations seeking

other Corporation funds. Under the

Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, an

organization described in section

501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code

of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(4)) which

engages in lobbying activities, is not

eligible to apply.

Estimated Number of Awards

The Corporation anticipates making

one award.

Period of Performance

The period of performance for the

cooperative agreement is up to 24

months, contingent upon performance

and the availability of appropriations.

All applicants must be able to provide

training and technical assistance

beginning on July 1, 1997.

Selection Criteria

The Corporation will initially

determine whether the organization is

eligible and whether the application

contains the information required in the

application materials. After this initial

screening, the Corporation will assess

applications based on the criteria listed

below:

1. The quality of the proposed

activities based on the scope of

activities and approaches proposed to

be used to provide training, materials,

and other resources, and the technical

support that programs need to meet

their objectives.