[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65291-65292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30812]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 65292]]



COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations 
with the Government of Bulgaria on Certain Wool Textile Products

December 13, 1995.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naomi Freeman, 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 29, 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 Bulgaria with 
respect to women's and girls' wool suits in Category 444, produced or 
manufactured in Bulgaria.
    The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no 
solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of 
Bulgaria, the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements 
may later establish a limit for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse 
for consumption of wool textile products in Category 444, produced or 
manufactured in Bulgaria and exported during the twelve-month period 
which began on November 29, 1995 and extends through November 28, 1996, 
at a level of not less than 59,569 numbers.
    A statement of serious damage concerning Category 444 follows this 
notice.
    Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding 
the treatment of Category 444, or to comment on domestic production or 
availability of products included in Category 444, 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 Bulgaria.
    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 444. Should such a solution be reached in 
consultations with the Government of Bulgaria, 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
Bulgaria
Women's and Girls' Wool Suits--Category 444
November 1995
Import Situation and Conclusion
    U.S. imports of women's and girls' wool suits, Category 444, from 
Bulgaria reached 59,569 units for the year-ending August 1995, almost 
14 times the 4,305 units imported during the same period a year 
earlier. Bulgaria shipped 41,624 units during 1994 and 1,161 units in 
1992. There were no imports from Bulgaria in 1993. Imports from 
Bulgaria were 4.6 percent of total U.S. imports of Category 444 in the 
year-ending August 1995, and were equivalent to 1.5 percent of U.S. 
production of Category 444 for the year-ending June 1995.
    U.S. imports of women's and girls' wool suits from Bulgaria in 
Category 444 during the first eight months of 1995 was $50.27 per unit, 
65 percent below the average U.S. producers' price for women's and 
girls' wool suits.
    The sharp and substantial increase of low-valued Category 444 
imports from Bulgaria is causing serious damage to the U.S. domestic 
industry producing women's and girls' wool suits.
U.S. Production, Import Penetration, and Market Share
    U.S. production of women's and girls' wool suits, Category 444, 
fell from 6,286,000 units in 1992 to 4,309,000 units in 1994, a decline 
of 31 percent. Domestic production of women's and girls' wool suits 
continued to decline in 1995, falling to 3,961,000 units in the year-
ending June 1995, 22 percent below the year-ending June 1994 level. In 
contrast, imports of Category 444 increased from 943,000 units in 1992 
to 1,093,000 units in 1994, a 16 percent increase. Category 444 imports 
surged to 1,307,000 units in the year-ending August 1995, 24 percent 
above the year-ending August 1994 level.
    The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 15 
percent in 1992 to 25 percent in 1994 to 31 percent in the year-ending 
June 1995. The share of the U.S. market for women's and girls' wool 
suits held by domestic manufacturers fell from 92 percent in 1992 to 88 
percent in 1994, and to 82 percent in the year-ending June 1995.
[FR Doc. 95-30812 Filed 12-18-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F