Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 114 / Monday, June 15, 1998 / Notices 32697

and purchase of services to provide

information.

Dated: June 8, 1998.

Karen Solomon,

Director, Legislative & Regulatory Activities

Division.

[FR Doc. 98–15801 Filed 6–12–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810–33–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

Country of Origin Marking Rules for

Textiles and Textile Products

Advanced in Value, Improved in

Condition, or Assembled Abroad

AGENCY: U.S. Customs Service,

Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Proposed interpretation;

solicitation of comments.

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public

that Customs is proposing a new

interpretation concerning the country of

origin rules for certain imported textiles

and textile products. It is Customs’

proposed position that 19 CFR 12.130(c)

should not control for purposes of

country of origin marking of textiles and

textile products, and that Chapter 98,

Subchapter II, U.S. Note 2(a),

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the

United States (HTSUS), does not apply

for country of origin marking purposes.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before August 14, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments

(preferably in triplicate) may be

addressed to the Regulations Branch,

Office of Regulations and Rulings, U.S.

Customs Service, 1300 Pennsylvania

Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20229.

Comments submitted may be inspected

at the Regulations Branch, Office of

Regulations and Rulings, U.S. Customs

Service, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue,

N.W., Washington, D.C.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Monika Brenner, Special Classification

and Marking Branch, Office of

Regulations and Rulings (202–927–

1675).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On May 9, 1984, the President issued

Executive Order 12475 to address a

number of problems that had arisen in

the context of the U.S. textile import

program. These problems included (1)

the absence of specific regulatory

standards for determining the origin of

imported textiles and textile products

for purposes of textile agreements and

(2) an ever increasing number and

variety of instances in which attempts

were made to circumvent and frustrate

the objectives of the United States

textile import program and the bilateral

and multilateral textile agreements

negotiated thereunder. Section 1(a) of

that Executive Order instructed the

Secretary of the Treasury, in accordance

with policy guidance provided by the

Committee for the Implementation of

Textile Agreements (CITA) to issue

regulations governing the entry of

textiles and textile products subject to

section 204 of the Agricultural Act of

1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854).

By T.D. 85–38, published in the

Federal Register on March 5, 1985 (50

FR 8710), Customs adopted as a final

rule interim amendments to part 12 of

the Customs Regulations (19 CFR part

12), which involved the addition of a

new § 12.130 that established criteria to

be used in determining the country of

origin of imported textiles and textile

products for purposes of multilateral or

bilateral textile agreements entered into

by the United States pursuant to section

204, Agricultural Act of 1956, as

amended. In that final rule document,

Customs stated that the principles of

origin contained in § 12.130 are

applicable to merchandise for all

purposes, including duty and marking.

In T.D. 90–17 (55 FR 7303, March 1,

1990), which involved a change of

practice to conform several previously

published Customs positions to certain

provisions within 19 CFR 12.130,

Customs again stated that the criteria set

forth in 19 CFR 12.130 should be used

in making country of origin

determinations for all Customs

purposes, including determinations for

purposes of country of origin marking

and for assessing duty on imported

articles.

Paragraph (c) of § 12.130 operates as

an exception to the basic country of

origin rule set forth in paragraph (b) of

§ 12.130. Paragraph (c)(1) of § 12.130

specifically provides, in part, that in

order to have:

a single country of origin for a textile or

textile product, notwithstanding paragraph

(b), merchandise which falls within the

purview of Chapter 98, Subchapter II, Note

2, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United

States, may not, upon its return to the U.S.,

be considered a product of the U.S.

Furthermore, 19 CFR 12.130(c)(1)

provides that:

Chapter 98, Subchapter II, Note 2,

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United

States, provides that any product of the U.S.

which is returned after having been advanced

in value or improved in condition abroad, or

assembled abroad, shall be a foreign article

for the purposes of the Tariff Act of 1930, as

amended.

Paragraph (c)(2) of section 12.130,

added by T.D. 93–27 (58 FR 19347,

April 14, 1993), accords essentially the

same treatment to products of insular

possessions.

In T.D. 95–69, published at 60 FR

46188 (September 5, 1995), Customs

issued final amendments to the Customs

Regulations (set forth principally at 19

CFR 102.21) to implement the

provisions of section 334 of the Uruguay

Round Agreements Act (URAA)

regarding the country of origin of textile

and apparel products, that are to be

used for purposes of the Customs laws

(including the marking statute, section

304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19

U.S.C. 1304)) and the administration of

quantitative restrictions and except as

otherwise provided for by statute. T.D.

95–69 also amended 19 CFR 12.130(b),

(d), and (e)(1) to clarify that the origin

of textile and apparel products covered

by 19 CFR 102.21 are determined

pursuant to that regulatory provision.

Since T.D. 95–69 did not amend 19 CFR

12.130(c)(1) or (2), and since T.D. 85–38

and T.D. 90–17 reflected the Customs

position that 19 CFR 12.130 should be

used in making country of origin

determinations for all Customs

purposes, including determinations for

purposes of country of origin marking,

19 CFR 12.130(c) still applies to

products of the United States or insular

possessions advanced in value,

improved in condition, or assembled

abroad for purposes of country of origin

marking.

In connection with the development

of the final NAFTA Marking Rules (T.D.

96–48, published at 61 FR 28932, June

6, 1996), Customs stated in a notice of

proposed rulemaking, published at 60

FR 22312, 22318 (May 5, 1995), that it

had reconsidered the position originally

set forth in the interim NAFTA Marking

Rules (T.D. 94–4, published at 59 FR

110, January 3, 1994) that Chapter 98,

Subchapter II, U.S. Note 2(a), HTSUS,

has application for general country of

origin purposes, including marking.

(Chapter 98, Subchapter II, U.S. Note

2(a), HTSUS, is identical to the U.S.

Note 2 referred to in 19 CFR 12.130(c);

subsequent to the promulgation of 19

CFR 12.130(c), U.S. Note 2 was divided

into two paragraphs, U.S. Note 2(a) and

(b). U.S. Note 2(b) provides a special

preferential tariff treatment only for

goods imported from countries listed in

General Note 7, HTSUS, that are made

wholly from U.S. materials and

ingredients. U.S. Note 2(b) is not

applicable and totally unrelated to this

proposal. See H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 650,

101st Cong., 2d Sess. 133, reprinted in

1990 U.S. Code & Admin. News 928,

1023; and subheading 9802.00.8040,
32698 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 114 / Monday, June 15, 1998 / Notices

1A copy of this list may be obtained by

contacting Ms. Neila Sheahan, Assistant General

Counsel, at 202/619–5030, and the address is Room

700, U.S. Information Agency, 301 Fourth Street,

S.W., Washington, D.C. 20547–0001.

HTSUS). Accordingly, in order to reflect

the reconsidered position of Customs

reflected in the May 5, 1995 notice of

proposed rulemaking, the final NAFTA

Marking Rules document included the

removal of 19 CFR 102.14 and 19 CFR

10.22. Section 102.14 provided that no

good last advanced in value or

improved in condition outside the

United States has United States origin,

and § 10.22 provided that the country of

origin of assembled goods entitled to a

duty allowance under subheading

9802.00.80, HTSUS, was the country of

assembly for marking purposes.

Accordingly, since Customs has

already stated that Chapter 98,

Subchapter II, U.S. Note 2(a), HTSUS,

no longer applies for country of origin

marking purposes, Customs proposes to

adopt a new position that 19 CFR

12.130(c) does not apply for purposes of

country of origin marking. However, 19

CFR 12.130(c) will still be applicable for

all other purposes specified in T.D. 85–

38 and T.D. 90–17, since T.D. 95–69 as

stated above did not repeal 19 CFR

12.130(c).

It should be noted that this change

does not exempt textile and apparel

products imported into the United

States from the labeling requirements of

the Textile Fiber Products Identification

Act, 15 U.S.C. 70, enforced by the

Federal Trade Commission. For

example, the Rules and Regulations

under the Textile Fiber Products

Identification Act, 16 CFR 303.33(a)(1),

provides that unless exempt under

section 12 of that Act, each imported

textile fiber product shall be labeled

with the name of the country where

such imported product was processed or

manufactured. Therefore, once it is

determined under the proposed new

position set forth herein that an

imported textile or apparel product is

not required to be marked in accordance

with 19 U.S.C. 1304, as implemented by

19 CFR 102.21, the imported textile or

apparel product would still be required

to be labeled in accordance with the

Textile Fiber Products Identification

Act.

Authority

This notice is published in

accordance with § 177.9, Customs

Regulations (19 CFR 177.9).

Comments

Before adopting this proposed change

in position, consideration will be given

to any written comments timely

submitted to Customs. Comments

submitted will be available for public

inspection in accordance with the

Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C.

552), § 1.4, Treasury Department

Regulations (31 CFR 1.4), and

§ 103.11(b), Customs Regulations (19

CFR 103.11(b)), on regular business days

between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4:30

p.m. at the Regulations Branch, 1300

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC.

Samuel H. Banks,

Acting Commissioner of Customs.

Approved: May 26, 1998.

John P. Simpson,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

[FR Doc. 98–15809 Filed 6–12–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820–02–P

UNITED STATES ENRICHMENT

CORPORATION

Meetings; Sunshine Act

AGENCY: United States Enrichment

Corporation.

SUBJECT: Board of Directors.

TIME AND DATE: 5:00 p.m., Thursday,

June 11, 1998.

PLACE: USEC Corporate Headquarters,

6903 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda,

Maryland 20817.

STATUS: The Board meeting will be

closed to the public.

MATTER TO BE CONSIDERED: Privatization

of the Corporation.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Elizabeth Stuckle at 301/564–3399.

Dated: June 10, 1998.

William H. Timbers, Jr.,

President and Chief Executive Officer.

[FR Doc. 98–15931 Filed 6–11–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8720–01–M

UNITED STATES INFORMATION

AGENCY

Culturally Significant Objects Imported

for Exhibition; Determinations

Notice is hereby given of the

following determinations: Pursuant to

the authority vested in me by the Act of

October 19, 1965 (79 Stat. 985, 22 U.S.C.

2459), Executive Order 12047 of March

27, 1978 (43 FR 13359, March 29, 1978),

and Delegation Order No. 85–5 of June

27, 1985 (50 FR 27393, July 2, 1985), I

hereby determine that the objects to be

included in the exhibit ‘‘TONY SMITH:

Architect, Painter, Sculptor’’ (see list),1

imported from various foreign lenders

for the temporary exhibition without

profit within the United States, are of

cultural significance. These objects are

imported pursuant to loan agreements

with the foreign lenders. I also

determine that the exhibition or display

of the listed exhibit objects at The

Museum of Modern Art, New York, N.Y.

from on or about July 2, 1998, to on or

about September 22, 1998, is in the

national interest. Public Notice of these

determinations is ordered to be

published in the Federal Register.

Dated: June 9, 1998.

Les Jin,

General Counsel.

[FR Doc. 98–15829 Filed 6–12–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

AFFAIRS

Advisory Committee on Structural

Safety of Department of Veterans

Affairs Facilities, Notice of Charter

Renewal

This gives notice under the Federal

Advisory Committee Act (Public Law

92–463) of October 6, 1972, that the

Advisory Committee on Structural

Safety of Department of Veterans Affairs

Facilities has been renewed for a 2-year

period beginning May 1, 1998, through

May 1, 2000.

Dated: June 5, 1998.

By direction of the Secretary.

Heyward Bannister,

Committee Management Officer.

[FR Doc. 98–15796 Filed 6–12–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–M