[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 142 (Tuesday, July 26, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-18166] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: July 26, 1994] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS Establishment of a New Export Visa Arrangement for Certain Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Lebanon July 21, 1994. AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA). ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing export visa requirements. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- EFFECTIVE DATE: August 1, 1994. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Tallarico, International Trade Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 482-4212. 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). The Governments of the United States and the Republic of Lebanon reached agreement, effected by exchange of notes dated September 16, 1993 and June 6, 1994, to establish an export visa arrangement for certain cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products, produced or manufactured in Lebanon and exported from Lebanon on and after August 1, 1994. Goods exported during the period August 1, 1994 through September 1, 1994 shall not be denied entry for lack of a visa. All goods exported after September 1, 1994 must be accompanied by a visa. 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). Interested persons are advised to take all necessary steps to ensure that textile products that are entered into the United States for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will meet the visa requirements set forth in the letter published below to the Commissioner of Customs. Rita D. Hayes, Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements. Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements July 21, 1994. Commissioner of Customs, Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229. Dear Commissioner: Under the terms of section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854), and the Arrangement Regarding International Trade in Textiles done at Geneva on December 20, 1973, as further extended on December 9, 1993; pursuant to the Export Visa Arrangement, effected by exchange of notes dated September 16, 1993 and June 6, 1994, between the Governments of the United States and the Republic of Lebanon; and in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, you are directed to prohibit, effective on August 1, 1994, entry into the Customs territory of the United States (i.e., the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products in Categories 200-239, 300-369, 400-469, 600-670 and 800-899, including merged and part categories, produced or manufactured in Lebanon and exported from Lebanon on and after August 1, 1994, for which the Government of the Republic of Lebanon has not issued an appropriate export visa fully described below. Should additional categories, merged categories or part categories be added to the bilateral agreement, the entire category(s) or part category(s) shall be included in the coverage of this arrangement on an agreed effective date. Goods exported during the period August 1, 1994 through September 1, 1994 shall not be denied entry for lack of a visa. A visa must accompany each commercial shipment of the aforementioned textile products. A circular stamped marking in blue ink will appear on the front of the original commercial invoice. The original visa shall not be stamped on duplicate copies of the invoice. The original invoice with the original visa stamp will be required to enter the shipment into the United States. Duplicates of the invoice and/or visa may not be used for this purpose. Each visa stamp shall include the following information: 1. The visa number. The visa number shall be in the standard nine digit letter format, beginning with one numerical digit for the last digit of the year of export, followed by the two character alpha country code specified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)(the code for Lebanon is ``LB''), and a six digit numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g., 4LB123456. 2. The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day, month and year on which the visa was issued. 3. The signature and printed name of the issuing official of the Government of the Republic of Lebanon. 4. The correct category(s), merged category(s), part category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity in the shipment as set forth in the U.S. Department of Commerce Correlation and in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) shall be reported in the spaces provided within the visa stamp (e.g., ``Cat. 340-510 DOZ''). Quantities must be stated in whole numbers. Decimals or fractions will not be accepted. Merged category quota merchandise may be accompanied by either the appropriate merged category visa or the correct category visa corresponding to the actual shipment (e.g., Categories 347/348 may be visaed as 347/348 or if the shipment consists solely of 347 merchandise, the shipment may be visaed as ``Cat. 347,'' but not as ``Cat. 348''). If, however, a merged quota category such as 340/640 has a quota sublimit on Category 340, then there must be a ``Cat. 340'' visa for the shipment if it includes Category 340 merchandise. U.S. Customs shall not permit entry if the shipment does not have a visa, or if the visa number, date of issuance, signature, category, quantity or units of quantity are missing, incorrect or illegible, or have been crossed out or altered in any way. If the quantity indicated on the visa is less than that of the shipment, entry shall not be permitted. If the quantity indicated on the visa is more than that of the shipment, entry shall be permitted and only the amount entered shall be charged to any applicable quota. The complete name and address of a company actually involved in the manufacturing process of the textile products covered by the visa shall be provided on the textile visa document. If the visa is not acceptable then a new correct visa must be obtained from the Government of the Republic of Lebanon, or a visa waiver may be issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce at the request of the Government of the Republic of Lebanon, and presented to the U.S. Customs Service before any portion of the shipment will be released. The waiver, if used, only waives the requirement to present a visa with the shipment. It does not waive the quota requirement. If import quotas are in force, U.S. Customs Service shall charge only the actual quantity in the shipment to the correct category limit. If a shipment from Lebanon has been allowed entry into the commerce of the United States with either an incorrect visa or no visa, and redelivery is requested but cannot be made, U.S. Customs shall charge the shipment to the correct category limit whether or not a visa waiver is provided. Merchandise imported for the personal use of the importer and not for resale, regardless of value, and properly marked commercial sample shipments valued at U.S.$250 or less, do not require a visa for entry. A facsimile of the visa stamp is enclosed with this letter. Officials of the Government of the Republic of Lebanon authorized to issue export visas are Michel Ayoub, Agnes Ghosn and Georges Khoury. The actions taken concerning the Government of Lebanon with respect to imports of textiles and textile products in the foregoing categories have been determined by the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements to involve foreign affairs functions of the United States. Therefore, these directions to the Commissioner of Customs, which are necessary for the implementation of such actions, fall within the foreign affairs exception to the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1). This letter will be published in the Federal Register. Sincerely, Rita D. Hayes, Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements. BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F![]()
TN26JY94.008 Textile Visa Stamp of the Republic of Lebanon [FR Doc. 94-18166 Filed 7-25-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-DR-C