Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 77 / Friday, April 21, 1995 / Notices 19891

1El Salvador and Colombia called under

domestic legal authority. They are not WTO

members.

domestic market share dropped to 65

percent during the first nine months of

1994.

[FR Doc. 95–9903 Filed 4–20–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DR–F

Request for Public Comments on

Bilateral Textile Consultations on

Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Underwear

April 17, 1995.

AGENCY: Committee for the

Implementation of Textile Agreements

(CITA).

ACTION: Notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Anne Novak (Costa Rica, Turkey),

Jennifer Tallarico (Dominican Republic),

Jennifer Aldrich (Honduras) and Ross

Arnold (Thailand), International Trade

Specialists, 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).

Under the terms of Article 6 of the

Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles

and Clothing (ATC) and the Uruguay

Round Agreements Act, the Government

of the United States requested

consultations with the Governments of

Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic,

Honduras, Turkey and Thailand with

respect to cotton and man-made fiber

underwear in Categories 352/652. On

March 29, 1995, CITA dropped its

request for consultations with Thailand

on Categories 352/652 that was made on

November 28, 1994 (see 60 FR 2081,

published on January 6, 1995) and

recalled under Article 6 of the ATC.

The purpose of this notice is to advise

the public that, if no solution is agreed

upon in consultations with the

Governments of Costa Rica, the

Dominican Republic, Honduras, Turkey

and Thailand, the Committee for the

Implementation of Textile Agreements

may later establish a limit for the entry

and withdrawal from warehouse for

consumption of cotton and man-made

fiber textile products in Categories 352/

652, produced or manufactured in the

aforementioned countries and exported

during the following twelve-month

periods, beginning on the date of the

request for consultations, at levels of not

less than the specified amounts:

Restraint period Restraint level

Costa Rica

March 27, 1995-March

26, 1996.

14,423,178 dozen.

Dominican Republic

March 27, 1995-March

26, 1996.

16,442,148 dozen.

Honduras

March 27, 1995-March

26, 1996.

6,550,810 dozen.

Turkey

March 28, 1995-March

27, 1996.

1,291,118 dozen.

Thailand

March 29, 1995-March

28, 1996.

1,586,005 dozen.

A statement of serious damage

concerning Categories 352/652 follows

this notice.

Anyone wishing to comment or

provide data or information regarding

the treatment of Categories 352/652, or

to comment on domestic production or

availability of products included in

Categories 352/652, is invited to submit

10 copies of such comments or

information to Rita D. Hayes, 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 Governments of Costa Rica, the

Dominican Republic, Honduras, Turkey

and Thailand.

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 agreement or

the implementation thereof 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

Categories 352/652. Should such a

solution be reached in consultations

with the Governments of Costa Rica, the

Dominican Republic, Honduras, Turkey

and Thailand, 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).

Rita D. Hayes,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation

of Textile Agreements.

Statement of Serious Damage

Cotton and Manmade Fiber Underwear—

Category 352/652

The sharp and substantial increase in

imports of cotton and manmade fiber

underwear, Category 352/652, is causing

serious damage to the U.S. industry

producing cotton and manmade fiber

underwear.

Category 352/652 imports surged from

65,507,000 dozen in 1992 to 79,962,000

dozen in 1993, a 22 percent increase.

Cotton and manmade fiber underwear

imports, Category 352/652, continued to

increase in 1994, reaching 97,375,000

dozen, 22 percent above the 1993 level

and 49 percent above the level imported

in 1992.

Serious damage to the domestic

industry resulting from the sharp and

substantial increase in imports of cotton

and manmade fiber underwear is

attributed to imports from the

Dominican Republic, Costa Rica,

Honduras, Thailand and Turkey 1. The

combination of high import levels,

surging imports, and low priced goods

from these countries have resulted in

loss of domestic output, market share,

investment, employment, and manhours worked.

Total imports from the five countries

listed above increased from 22,675,508

dozen in 1992 to 40,293,259 dozen in

1994, a sharp and substantial increase of

78 percent. As a group their imports

were up 32 percent in 1994 over their

1993 level. Together their 1992 imports

were 35 percent of total Category 352/

652 imports. Their share of total

category imports increased to 41 percent

in 1994. Their 1994 imports were 24.5

percent of total U.S. production of

cotton and manmade fiber underwear in

the year ending September 1994.

[FR Doc.95–9906 Filed 4–20–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DR–F