[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 19 (Monday, January 30, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5652-5653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-2290]



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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations 
with Hungary on Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products

January 25, 1995.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Notice.

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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 December 30, 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 the Republic of Hungary with respect to cotton and man-
made fiber nightwear and pajamas in Categories 351/651, produced or 
manufactured in Hungary.
    The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no 
solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of 
Hungary, 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 
351/651, produced or manufactured in Hungary.
    A summary market statement concerning Categories 351/651 follows 
this notice.
    Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding 
the treatment of Categories 351/651, or to comment on domestic 
production or availability of products included in Categories 351/651, 
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 Hungary.
    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 
[[Page 5653]] 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 351/651. Should such a solution be reached in 
consultations with the Government of Hungary, 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.

Market Statement--Hungary
Categories 351/651--Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Nightwear and Pajamas
December 1994
Import Situation and Conclusion
    U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber pajamas and other 
nightwear, Category 351/651, from Hungary reached 148,570 dozen during 
the year ending September 1994, 63 percent above the 91,159 dozen 
imported during the year ending September 1993. In the first nine 
months of 1994, imports of Category 351/651 from Hungary reached 
109,805 dozen, 41 percent above the 77,718 dozen shipped during 
January-September 1993, and 94 percent of their total calendar year 
1993 imports.
    The sharp and substantial increase of Category 351/651 imports from 
Hungary is causing disruption in the U.S. market for cotton and manmade 
fiber pajamas and other nightwear.
U.S. Production, Import Penetration and Market Share
    U.S. production of cotton and manmade fiber pajamas and other 
nightwear fell from 11,639 thousand dozen in 1992 to 10,442 thousand 
dozen in 1993, a decline of 10 percent. Production continued to decline 
in 1994, falling to 10,114 thousand dozen in the year ending in June 
1994, 7 percent below the year ending June 1993 level. In contrast, 
U.S. imports of Category 351/651 increased from 9,347 thousand dozen in 
1992 to 10,832 thousand dozen in 1993, an increase of 16 percent. 
Category 351/651 imports continued to increase in 1994, reaching a 
record level 11,079 thousand dozen during the year ending September 
1994, 5 percent above the 10,563 thousand dozen imported during the 
same period a year earlier.
    The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 80 
percent in 1992 to 104 percent in 1993, and reached 109 percent for the 
year ending June 1994. The domestic manufacturers' share of the cotton 
and manmade fiber nightwear market declined from 55 percent in 1992 to 
49 percent in 1993, and fell to 48 percent during the year ending June 
1994.
Duty-Paid Value and U.S. Producers' Price
    Nearly all of Category 351/651 imports from Hungary during the year 
ending in September 1993 entered the U.S. under HTSUSA 6108.31.0010--
women's knit cotton nightdresses and pajamas. This nightwear entered 
the U.S. at landed duty-paid values below U.S. producers' prices for 
comparable nightwear.
[FR Doc. 95-2290 Filed 1-26-95; 11:19 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F