[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 210 (Tuesday, November 1, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65889-65890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21689]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Exemption from Category 647/648 of Ski and Snowboard Pants 
Manufactured in the People's Republic of China

October 26, 2005.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner, Customs and Border 
Protection, to not subject ski and snowboard pants to limits on 
category 647/648 and to release them from the current embargo for goods 
manufactured in the People's Republic of China.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: November 1, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Philip J. Martello, Director, Trade 
and Data Division, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, (202) 482-3400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Authority: Section 204 of the Agriculture Act of 1956 (7 U.S.C. 
1854); Executive Order 11651, 37 Fed. Reg. 4699 (Mar. 3, 1972), as 
amended.
    CITA has determined that certain imports of ski and snowboard pants 
from China do not contribute to the market disruption found in category 
647/648 goods. CITA based this determination on its belief that these 
ski and snowboard pant imports of Chinese origin were not, due to 
market disruption, threatening to impede the orderly development of 
trade in these products. Specifically, CITA determined that ski/
snowboard pants should not be covered by the 2005 safeguard quota. CITA 
has received new information indicating that there is minimal domestic 
production of the ski/snowboard pants products; the ski/snowboard pants 
products are seasonal products with limited end-use; the ski/snowboard 
pants products account for de minimis import quantities; thus, the 
exclusion does not undermine the market disruption finding or require 
the readjustment of the quota calculation; and the ski/snowboard pants 
products are easily definable in the HTS schedule for enforcement 
purposes and the specificity of the definition ensures that this 
provision will apply only to those items that meet the narrow 
parameters established in the tariff items and in the statistical note 
of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
    The HTSUS has been modified to establish a new statistical note for 
ski/snowboard pants applicable to HTSUS items 6203.43.3510, 
6204.63.3010, 6210.40.5031, and 6210.50.5031. Ski and snowboard pants 
can also be imported as parts of ski suits, classified under HTSUS 
items 6211.20.1525 and 6211.20.1555.
    Effective on November 1, 2005, for goods produced or manufactured 
in the People's Republic of China, that meet the definition of ski/
snowboard pants, provided below, classified in HTSUS items 
6203.43.3510, 204.63.3010, 6210.40.5031, and 6210.50.5031, and trousers 
imported as parts of ski-suits classified under HTSUS items 
6211.20.1525 and 6211.20.1555, CITA is directing the Commissioner, 
Customs and Border Protection, to not subject these products to 
restrictions established for category 647/648 in 2005 and to allow 
entry of such goods no longer subject to the embargo currently in 
effect for category 647/648 goods.

Definition:

    For the purposes of subheadings 6203.43.3510, 6204.63.3010, 
6210.40.5031, and 6210.50.5031:
    The term ``ski/snowboard pants'' means ankle-length pants made of 
synthetic fabrics, with or without insulation for cold weather 
protection, with zippered or hook and loop enclosed pockets, sealed 
seams and hidden elastic leg sleeves, and with one or more of the 
following: side openings, scuff guards or reinforcement in the seat. A 
sealed seam is one that has been covered, on the backside of the 
fabric, with tape or a coating to ``bridge'' the seam so that air and 
water cannot pass through. The tape or coating may be applied using 
heat and/or pressure.

James C. Leonard III,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

October 26, 2005.

Commissioner,
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Washington, DC 20229.
    Dear Commissioner: On May 26, 2005, the Chairman of the 
Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreement (CITA) issued 
a directive to you to establish an import limit on man-made fiber 
trousers (category 647/648), produced or manufactured in the 
People's Republic of China and exported during the period beginning 
on May 27, 2005 and extending

[[Page 65890]]

through December 31, 2005. The limit established for these products 
was fully utilized on August 3, 2005.
    Effective on November 1, 2005, you are directed to exempt from 
the 2005 restraint established for category 647/648 goods 
manufactured in China, goods that meet the definition of ski/
snowboard pants, provided below, classified in items 6203.43.3510, 
6204.63.3010, 6210.40.5031, and 6210.50.5031 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States and trousers imported as parts 
of ski-suits, classified in items 6211.20.1525 and 6211.20.1555. You 
are further directed to release from the embargo on category 647/648 
and allow entry of such ski and snowboard pants, produced or 
manufactured in the People's Republic of China and entered for 
consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption into the 
United States on and after November 1, 2005.

Definition:

    For the purposes of headings 6203.43.3510, 6204.63.3010, 
6210.40.5031, and 6210.50.5031:
    The term ``ski/snowboard pants'' means ankle-length pants made 
of synthetic fabrics, with or without insulation for cold weather 
protection, with zippered or hook and loop enclosed pockets, sealed 
seams and hidden elastic leg sleeves, and with one or more of the 
following: side openings, scuff guards or reinforcement in the seat. 
A sealed seam is one that has been covered, on the backside of the 
fabric, with tape or a coating to ``bridge'' the seam so that air 
and water cannot pass through. The tape or coating may be applied 
using heat and/or pressure.
    The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has 
determined that this action falls within the foreign affairs 
exception to the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).
    Sincerely,
James C. Leonard III,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. 05-21689 Filed 10-27-05; 10:33 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS