[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 88 (Monday, May 9, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-11127]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 9, 1994]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

 

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations 
With the Government of El Salvador on Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber 
Textile Products

May 3, 1994.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Notice.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Bivens Collinson, 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 April 25, 1994, under the terms of Article 3 of the Arrangement 
Regarding International Trade in Textiles, done at Geneva on December 
20, 1973, as further extended on December 9, 1993, the Government of 
the United States requested consultations with the Government of El 
Salvador with respect to men's and boys' cotton and man-made fiber 
woven shirts in Categories 340/640, produced or manufactured in El 
Salvador.
    The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no 
solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of El 
Salvador, 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 340/640, produced or manufactured in El Salvador and 
exported during the twelve-month period which began on April 25, 1994 
and extends through April 24, 1995, at a level of not less than 373,803 
dozen.
    A summary market statement concerning Categories 340/640 follows 
this notice.
    Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding 
the treatment of Categories 340/640, or to comment on domestic 
production or availability of products included in Categories 340/640, 
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 Government of El Salvador.
    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 340/640. Should such a solution be reached in 
consultations with the Government of El Salvador, 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 58 FR 62645, published on November 29, 1993).
Rita D. Hayes,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Market Statement--El Salvador
Category 340/640--Men's and Boys' Cotton and Manmade Fiber Woven Shirts
April 1994
Import Situation and Conclusion
    U.S. imports of men's and boys' cotton and manmade fiber woven 
shirts, Category 340/640, from El Salvador reached 373,803 dozen for 
the year ending January 1994, more than nine times the 41,246 dozen 
imported a year earlier. Imports from El Salvador were 35,803 dozen in 
1992.
    The sharp and substantial increase in Category 340/640 imports from 
El Salvador is disrupting the U.S. market for men's and boys' cotton 
and manmade fiber woven shirts.
U.S. Production, Import Penetration, and Market Share
    U.S. production and imports of men's and boys' cotton and manmade 
fiber woven shirts, Category 340/640, declined during the recession 
years 1990 and 1991. Production recovered slightly in 1992, while 
imports surged. In 1993, U.S. production fell 2 percent below the 1992 
level and was 26 percent below the pre-recession 1989 level. In 
contrast, 1993 imports increased by five percent over the 1992 level, 
and were 19 percent above the 1989 pre-recession level.
    The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 157 
percent in 1989 to 253 percent in 1993. The U.S. producer's share of 
the domestic market fell from 39 percent in 1989 to 28 percent in 1993, 
a decline of 11 percentage points.
Duty-Paid Value and U.S. Producers' Price
    Approximately 70 percent of Category 340/640 imports from El 
Salvador during the year ending January 1994 entered under HTSUSA 
numbers 6205.20.2025--men's cotton dress shirts, other than yarn dyed; 
6205.20.2065--men's woven cotton shirts, other than dress and corduroy, 
with one color in the warp and/or the filling; and 6205.20.2075--boys' 
woven cotton shirts, other than dress and corduroy, with one color in 
the warp and/or the filling, other than imported as a part of a 
playsuit. These shirts entered the U.S. at landed duty-paid values 
below U.S. producers' prices for comparable shirts.
[FR Doc. 94-11127 Filed 5-6-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F