59038 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 11, 2005 / Notices 

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 men’s and boys’

cotton and man-made fiber shirts, not 

knit that are presently sold in the 

Chinese market or in third-country 

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 men’s and boys’ cotton 

and man-made fiber shirts, not knit 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 men’s and boys’ cotton 

and man-made fiber shirts, not knit, and 

whether actual or anticipated imports of 

Chinese-origin men’s and boys’ cotton 

and man-made fiber shirts, not knit are 

likely to affect the development and 

production efforts of the U.S. men’s and 

boys’ cotton and man-made fiber shirts, 

not knit industry; and (6) Whether U.S. 

managers, retailers, purchasers, 

importers or other market participants 

have recognized Chinese producers of 

men’s and boys’ cotton and man-made 

fiber shirts, not knit as potential 

suppliers (for example, through prequalification 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. 

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 men’s and boys’ cotton and manmade fiber shirts, not knit 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. 05–20404 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 cotton 

trousers (Category 347/348). 

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 trousers (Category 

347/348). 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 trousers. The current limit on 

cotton trousers 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 trousers 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 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 11, 2005 / Notices 59039 

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 trousers 

(Category 347/348). 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 trousers and, if so, the role of 

Chinese-origin cotton trousers 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 trouser 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 trousers 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 trousers, 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 trousers 

that are presently sold in the Chinese 

market or in third-country 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 trousers 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 trousers, and whether actual or 

anticipated imports of Chinese-origin 

cotton trousers are likely to affect the 

development and production efforts of 

the U.S. cotton trouser industry; and (6) 

Whether U.S. managers, retailers, 

purchasers, importers or other market 

participants have recognized Chinese 

producers of cotton trousers as potential 

suppliers (for example, through prequalification 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. 

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 

ublished 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 trousers 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. 05–20405 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 cotton 

and man-made fiber brassieres (Category 

349/649). 

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 and man-made 

fiber brassieres (Category 349/649). 

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 brassieres. The current limit on 

cotton and man-made fiber brassieres 

expires on December 31, 2005. The 

Committee hereby solicits public 

comments on this request, in particular 

with regard to whether imports from