59036 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 11, 2005 / Notices 

COMMITTEE FOR THE 

IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE 

AGREEMENTS 

Solicitation of Public Comments on 

Request for Textile and Apparel 

Safeguard Action on Imports from 

China 

October 5, 2005. 

AGENCY: The Committee for the 

Implementation of Textile Agreements 

(the Committee). 

ACTION: Solicitation of public comments 

concerning a request for safeguard 

action on imports from China of cotton 

knit shirts and blouses (Category 338/ 

339). 

SUMMARY: On September 14, 2005, the 

Committee received a request from the 

American Manufacturing Trade Action 

Coalition, the National Council of 

Textile Organizations, the National 

Textile Association, SEAMS, and 

UNITE HERE requesting that the 

Committee reapply a limit on imports 

from China of cotton knit shirts and 

blouses (Category 338/339). They 

request that a textile and apparel 

safeguard action, as provided for in the 

Report of the Working Party on the 

Accession of China to the World Trade 

Organization (the Accession 

Agreement), be reapplied on imports of 

cotton knit shirts and blouses. The 

current limit on cotton knit shirts and 

blouses expires on December 31, 2005. 

The Committee hereby solicits public 

comments on this request, in particular 

with regard to whether imports from 

China of cotton knit shirts and blouses 

are, due to the threat of market 

disruption, threatening to impede the 

orderly development of trade in this 

product. Comments must be submitted 

by November 10, 2005 to the Chairman, 

Committee for the Implementation of 

Textile Agreements, Room 3001A, 

United States Department of Commerce, 

14th and Constitution Avenue, N.W., 

Washington, DC 20230. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jay 

Dowling, Office of Textiles and Apparel, 

U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 

482-4058. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority: Section 204 of the Agriculture 

Act of 1956, as amended; Executive 

Order11651, as amended. 

Background 

The Report of the Working Party on 

the Accession of China to the World 

Trade Organization (WTO) provides 

that, if a WTO Member, such as the 

United States, believes that imports of 

Chinese origin textile and apparel 

products are, ‘‘due to market disruption, 

threatening to impede the orderly 

development of trade in these 

products’’, it may request consultations 

with China with a view to easing or 

avoiding the disruption. Pursuant to this 

provision, if the United States requests 

consultations with China, it must, at the 

time of the request, provide China with 

a detailed factual statement showing (1) 

the existence or threat of market 

disruption; and (2) the role of products 

of Chinese origin in that disruption. 

Beginning on the date that it receives 

such a request, China must restrict its 

shipments to the United States to a level 

no greater than 7.5 percent (6 percent 

for wool product categories) above the 

amount entered during the first 12 

months of the most recent 14 months 

preceding the month in which the 

request was made. 

The Committee has published 

procedures (the Procedures) it follows 

in considering requests for Accession 

Agreement textile and apparel safeguard 

actions (68 FR 27787, May 21, 2003; 68 

FR 49440, August 18, 2003), including 

the information that must be included 

in such requests in order for the 

Committee to consider them. 

On September 14, 2005, the 

Committee received a request that an 

Accession Agreement textile and 

apparel safeguard action be reapplied on 

imports from China of cotton knit shirts 

and blouses (Category 338/339). The 

Committee has determined that this 

request provides the information 

necessary for the Committee to consider 

the request in light of the considerations 

set forth in the Procedures. The text of 

the request is available at http:// 

otexa.ita.doc.gov/Safeguard05.htm. 

The Committee is soliciting public 

comments on this request, in particular 

with regard to whether there is a threat 

of disruption to the U.S. market for 

cotton knit shirts and blouses and, if so, 

the role of Chinese-origin cotton knit 

shirts and blouses in that disruption. To 

this end, the Committee seeks relevant 

information addressing factors such as 

the following, which may be relevant in 

the particular circumstances of this 

case, involving a product under a quota 

that will be removed on December 31, 

2005: (1) Whether cotton knit shirt and 

blouse imports from China are entering, 

or are expected to enter, the United 

States at prices that are substantially 

below prices of the like or directly 

competitive U.S. product, and whether 

those imports are likely to have a 

significant depressing or suppressing 

effect on domestic prices of the like or 

directly competitive U.S. product, or are 

likely to increase demand for further 

imports from China; (2) Whether exports 

of Chinese-origin cotton knit shirts and 

blouses to the United States are likely to 

increase substantially and imminently 

(due to existing unused production 

capacity, to capacity that can easily be 

shifted from the production of other 

products to the production of cotton 

knit shirts and blouses, or to an 

imminent and substantial increase in 

production capacity or investment in 

production capacity), taking into 

account the availability of other markets 

to absorb any additional exports; (3) 

Whether Chinese-origin cotton knit 

shirts and blouses that are presently 

sold in the Chinese market or in thirdcountry markets will be diverted to the 

U.S. market in the imminent future (for 

example, due to more favorable pricing 

in the U.S. market or to existing or 

imminent import restraints into third 

country market); (4) The level and the 

extent of any recent change in 

inventories of cotton knit shirts and 

blouses in China or in U.S. bonded 

warehouses; (5) Whether conditions of 

the domestic industry of the like or 

directly competitive product 

demonstrate that market disruption is 

likely (as may be evident from any 

anticipated factory closures or decline 

in investment in the production of 

cotton knit shirts and blouses, and 

whether actual or anticipated imports of 

Chinese-origin cotton knit shirts and 

blouses are likely to affect the 

development and production efforts of 

the U.S. cotton knit shirt and blouse 

industry; and (6) Whether U.S. 

managers, retailers, purchasers, 

importers or other market participants 

have recognized Chinese producers of 

cotton knit shirts and blouses as 

potential suppliers (for example, 

through pre-qualification procedures or 

framework agreements). 

Comments may be submitted by any 

interested person. Comments must be 

received no later than November 10, 

2005. Interested persons are invited to 

submit ten copies of such comments to 

the Chairman, Committee for the 

Implementation of Textile Agreements, 

Room 3001A, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 14th and Constitution 

Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20230. 

If a comment alleges that there is no 

threat of market disruption or that the 

subject imports are not threatening to 

cause market disruption, the Committee 

will closely review any supporting 

information and documentation, such as 

information about domestic production 

or prices of like or directly competitive 

products. Particular consideration will 

be given to comments representing the 

views of actual producers in the United 

States of a like or directly competitive 

product. 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 11, 2005 / Notices 59037 

The Committee will protect any 

business confidential information that is 

marked ‘‘business confidential’’ from 

disclosure to the full extent permitted 

by law. To the extent that business 

confidential information is provided, 

two copies of a non-confidential version 

must also be provided in which 

business confidential information is 

summarized or, if necessary, deleted. 

Comments received, with the exception 

of information marked ‘‘business 

confidential’’, will be available for 

inspection between Monday - Friday, 

8:30 a.m and 5:30 p.m in the Trade 

Reference and Assistance Center Help 

Desk, Suite 800M, USA Trade 

Information Center, Ronald Reagan 

Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, 

NW, Washington, DC, (202) 482-3433. 

The Committee expects to make a 

determination within 60 calendar days 

of the close of the comment period as 

to whether the United States will 

request consultations with China. If, 

however, the Committee is unable to 

make a determination within 60 

calendar days, it will cause to be 

published a notice in the Federal 

Register, including the date by which it 

will make a determination. If the 

Committee makes a negative 

determination, it will cause this 

determination and the reasons therefore 

to be published in the Federal Register. 

If the Committee makes an affirmative 

determination that imports of Chinese 

origin cotton knit shirts and blouses are, 

due to the threat of market disruption, 

threatening to impede the orderly 

development of trade in these products, 

the United States will request 

consultations with China with a view to 

easing or avoiding the disruption in 

accordance with the Accession 

Agreement and the Committee’s 

Procedures. 

James C. Leonard III, 

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation 

of Textile Agreements. 

[FR Doc. 05–20403 Filed 10–6–05; 1:36 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–S 

COMMITTEE FOR THE 

IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE 

AGREEMENTS 

Solicitation of Public Comments on 

Request for Textile and Apparel 

Safeguard Action on Imports from 

China 

October 5, 2005. 

AGENCY: The Committee for the 

Implementation of Textile Agreements 

(the Committee). 

ACTION: Solicitation of public comments 

concerning a request for safeguard 

action on imports from China of men’s 

and boys’ cotton and man-made fiber 

shirts, not knit (Category 340/640). 

SUMMARY: On September 14, 2005, the 

Committee received a request from the 

American Manufacturing Trade Action 

Coalition, the National Council of 

Textile Organizations, the National 

Textile Association, SEAMS, and 

UNITE HERE requesting that the 

Committee reapply a limit on imports 

from China of men’s and boys’ cotton 

and man-made fiber shirts, not knit 

(Category 340/640). They request that a 

textile and apparel safeguard action, as 

provided for in the Report of the 

Working Party on the Accession of 

China to the World Trade Organization 

(the Accession Agreement), be reapplied 

on imports of such shirts. The current 

limit on men’s and boys’ cotton and 

man-made fiber shirts, not knit expires 

on December 31, 2005. The Committee 

hereby solicits public comments on this 

request, in particular with regard to 

whether imports from China of such 

shirts are, due to the threat of market 

disruption, threatening to impede the 

orderly development of trade in this 

product. Comments must be submitted 

by November 10, 2005, to the Chairman, 

Committee for the Implementation of 

Textile Agreements, Room 3001A, 

United States Department of Commerce, 

14th and Constitution Avenue, N.W., 

Washington, DC 20230. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jay 

Dowling, Office of Textiles and Apparel, 

U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 

482-4058. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority: Section 204 of the Agriculture 

Act of 1956, as amended; Executive Order 

11651, as amended. 

Background 

The Report of the Working Party on 

the Accession of China to the World 

Trade Organization (WTO) provides 

that, if a WTO Member, such as the 

United States, believes that imports of 

Chinese origin textile and apparel 

products are, ‘‘due to market disruption, 

threatening to impede the orderly 

development of trade in these 

products’’, it may request consultations 

with China with a view to easing or 

avoiding the disruption. Pursuant to this 

provision, if the United States requests 

consultations with China, it must, at the 

time of the request, provide China with 

a detailed factual statement showing (1) 

the existence or threat of market 

disruption; and (2) the role of products 

of Chinese origin in that disruption. 

Beginning on the date that it receives 

such a request, China must restrict its 

shipments to the United States to a level 

no greater than 7.5 percent (6 percent 

for wool product categories) above the 

amount entered during the first 12 

months of the most recent 14 months 

preceding the month in which the 

request was made. 

The Committee has published 

procedures (the Procedures) it follows 

in considering requests for Accession 

Agreement textile and apparel safeguard 

actions (68 FR 27787, May 21, 2003; 68 

FR 49440, August 18, 2003), including 

the information that must be included 

in such requests in order for the 

Committee to consider them. 

On September 14, 2005, the 

Committee received a request that an 

Accession Agreement textile and 

apparel safeguard action be reapplied on 

imports from China of men’s and boys’

cotton and man-made fiber shirts, not 

knit (Category 340/640). The Committee 

has determined that this request 

provides the information necessary for 

the Committee to consider the request in 

light of the considerations set forth in 

the Procedures. The text of the request 

is available at http://otexa.ita.doc.gov/ 

Safeguard05.htm. 

The Committee is soliciting public 

comments on this request, in particular 

with regard to whether there is a threat 

of disruption to the U.S. market for 

men’s and boys’ cotton and man-made 

fiber shirts, not knit and, if so, the role 

of Chinese-origin men’s and boys’

cotton and man-made fiber shirts, not 

knit in that disruption. To this end, the 

Committee seeks relevant information 

addressing factors such as the following, 

which may be relevant in the particular 

circumstances of this case, involving a 

product under a quota that will be 

removed on December 31, 2005: (1) 

Whether men’s and boys’ cotton and 

man-made fiber shirts, not knit imports 

from China are entering, or are expected 

to enter, the United States at prices that 

are substantially below prices of the like 

or directly competitive U.S. product, 

and whether those imports are likely to 

have a significant depressing or 

suppressing effect on domestic prices of 

the like or directly competitive U.S. 

product, or are likely to increase 

demand for further imports from China; 

(2) Whether exports of Chinese-origin 

men’s and boys’ cotton and man-made 

fiber shirts, not knit to the United States 

are likely to increase substantially and 

imminently (due to existing unused 

production capacity, to capacity that 

can easily be shifted from the 

production of other products to the 

production of men’s and boys’ cotton 

and man-made fiber shirts, not knit, or 

to an imminent and substantial increase