[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 17, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26407-26408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-12107]



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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations on 
Spun Yarn

May 11, 1995.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Notice.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross Arnold, International Trade 
Specialists, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, (202) 482-4212. For information on categories for which 
consultations have been requested, call (202) 482-3740.

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).

    On April 27, 1995, under the terms of Article 6 of the Uruguay 
Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) and the Uruguay Round 
Agreements Act, the Government of the United States requested 
consultations with the Government of Thailand with respect to spun yarn 
containing 85 percent or more by weight artificial staple fiber in 
Category 603, produced or manufactured in Thailand.
    The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no 
solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of 
Thailand, the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements 
may later establish a limit for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse 
for consumption of textile [[Page 26408]] products in Category 603, 
produced or manufactured in Thailand and exported during the twelve-
month period April 27, 1995 through April 26, 1996, at a level of not 
less than 1,249,659 kilograms. On April 27, 1995, CITA dropped its 
request for consultations with Thailand on Category 603 that was made 
on November 28, 1994 (see 60 FR 2081, published on January 6, 1995) and 
resubmitted the request under Article 6 of the ATC.
    A summary statement of serious damage concerning Category 603 
follows this notice.
    Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding 
the treatment of Category 603, or to comment on domestic production or 
availability of products included in Category 603, is invited to submit 
10 copies of such comments or information to Rita D. Hayes, Chairman, 
Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, U.S. Department 
of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; ATTN: Helen L. LeGrande. The 
comments received will be considered in the context of the 
consultations with the Government of Thailand.
    Because the exact timing of the consultations is not yet certain, 
comments should be submitted promptly. Comments or information 
submitted in response to this notice will be available for public 
inspection in the Office of Textiles and Apparel, room H3100, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC.
    Further comments may be invited regarding particular comments or 
information received from the public which the Committee for the 
Implementation of Textile Agreements considers appropriate for further 
consideration.
    The solicitation of comments regarding any aspect of the agreement 
or the implementation thereof is not a waiver in any respect of the 
exemption contained in 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1) relating to matters which 
constitute ``a foreign affairs function of the United States.''
    The United States remains committed to finding a solution 
concerning Category 603. Should such a solution be reached in 
consultations with the Government Thailand, further notice will be 
published in the Federal Register.
    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 59 FR 65531, published on December 20, 1994).
Rita D. Hayes,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Summary Statement of Serious Damage
Spun Yarn Containing 85 Percent or More By Weight Artificial Staple 
Fiber--Category 603
April 1995
    The sharp and substantial increase in imports of spun yarn 
containing 85 percent or more by weight artificial staple fiber, 
Category 603, is causing serious damage to the U.S. industry producing 
spun yarn containing 85 percent or more by weight artificial staple 
fiber.
    Category 603 imports surged from 5,259,000 kilograms in 1992 to 
9,886,000 kilograms in 1993, a 88 percent increase. Imports of spun 
yarns containing 85 percent or more by weight artificial staple fiber, 
Category 603, continued to increase in 1994 and 1995, reaching 
12,966,000 kilograms during year ending January 1995, 27 percent above 
the year ending January 1994 level and two and a half times the 1992 
level.
    Serious damage to the domestic industry resulting from the sharp 
and substantial increase in imports of spun yarn containing 85 percent 
or more by weight artificial staple fiber is attributed to imports from 
Thailand. Surging imports and low priced yarns from Thailand have 
resulted in loss of domestic output, market share, investment, 
employment, and man-hours worked.
    U.S. imports of spun yarn containing 85 percent or more by weight 
artificial staple fiber, Category 603, from Thailand reached 1,249,659 
kilograms during the year ending January 1995, three times the 408,257 
kilograms imported during the year ending January 1994 and two times 
Thailand's calendar year 1992 import level.
[FR Doc. 95-12107 Filed 5-16-95; 8:45 am]
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