[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 245 (Thursday, December 21, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66269-66270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-31033]



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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations 
with the Government of Nepal on Certain Man-Made Fiber Textile Products

December 15, 1995.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Notice.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janet Heinzen, International Trade 
Specialist, 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 November 28, 1995, in accordance with Section 204 of the 
Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended, the Government of the United 
States requested consultations with the Government of Nepal with 
respect to man-made fiber skirts in Category 642, produced or 
manufactured in Nepal.
    The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no 
solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of Nepal, 
the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements may later 
establish a limit for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse for 
consumption of man-made fiber textile products in Category 642, 
produced or manufactured in Nepal and exported during the twelve-month 
period which began on November 28, 1995 and extends through November 
27, 1996, at a level of not less than 92,081 dozen.
    A statement of serious damage concerning Category 642 follows this 
notice.
    Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding 

[[Page 66270]]
    the treatment of Category 642, or to comment on domestic production or 
availability of products included in Category 642, is invited to submit 
10 copies of such comments or information to Troy H. Cribb, 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 Nepal.
    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 
implementation of an agreement 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 642. Should such a solution be reached in 
consultations with the Government of Nepal, 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).
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Statement of Serious Damage
Nepal
Man-made Fiber Skirts--Category 642
November 1995
Import Situation and Conclusion
    U.S. imports of manmade fiber skirts, Category 642, from Nepal 
reached 92,081 dozen for the year-ending August 1995, three times the 
29,006 dozen imported during the same period a year earlier. Imports 
from Nepal during the year-ending August 1995 were 1.9 percent of total 
U.S. imports of Category 642 and were equivalent to 2.1 percent of U.S. 
domestic production of Category 642 for the year-ending June 1995.
    U.S. imports of manmade fiber skirts from Nepal in Category 642 
during the first eight months of 1995 entered the U.S. at an average 
landed duty-paid value of $49.59 per dozen, 67 percent below the 
average U.S. producers' price for manmade fiber skirts.
    The sharp and substantial increase of low-valued Category 642 
imports from Nepal is causing serious damage to the U.S. domestic 
industry producing manmade fiber skirts.
U.S. Production, Import Penetration, and Market Share
    U.S. production of manmade fiber skirts, Category 642, increased 
from 5,119,000 dozen in 1992 to 5,227,000 dozen in 1993, an increase of 
2 percent. Domestic production of Category 642 fell to 4,610,000 dozen 
in 1994, 12 percent below the 1993 level and 10 percent below the 1992 
level. Domestic production of Category 642 continued to decline in 
1995, falling to 2,347,000 dozen in the first half of 1995, 7 percent 
below the January-June 1994 level. In contrast, imports of Category 642 
increased from 3,819,000 dozen in 1992 to 4,177,000 dozen in 1994, a 9 
percent increase. Category 642 imports continue to increase in 1995, 
reaching 3,657,467 dozen during January-August 1995, 28 percent above 
the January-August 1994 level.
    The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 75 
percent in 1992 to 91 percent in 1994, and reached 113 percent in the 
first half of 1995. The share of the U.S. market for manmade fiber 
skirts held by domestic manufacturers fell from 60 percent in 1992 to 
55 percent in 1994, and to 48 percent during January-June 1995.
[FR Doc. 95-31033 Filed 12-20-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-M