[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 88 (Monday, May 8, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22567-22569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-11259]



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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 the People's 
Republic of China

May 3, 1995.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing 
a new export visa arrangement.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: May 15, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Aldrich, 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).

    In an exchange of notes dated November 3 and 23, 1994, the 
Governments of the United States and the People's Republic of China 
agreed to cancel the existing visa arrangement and establish a new 
export visa arrangement for cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend 
and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products produced and 
manufactured in China and exported on and after May 15, 1995. Goods 
exported during the period May 15-31, 1995 shall not be denied entry if 
visaed in accordance with the old visa requirements. Goods exported on 
and after June 1, 1995 must be visaed in accordance with the new visa 
requirements, as set forth in the following directive to the 
Commissioner of Customs.
    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 November 20, 1994). Also see 
49 FR 7269, published on February 28, 1984; and 52 FR 28741, published 
on August 3, 1987.
    A facsimile of the visa stamp was published in the Federal Register 
on September 23, 1993 (58 FR 49475).
    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for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will meet 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
May 3, 1995.

Commissioner of Customs,
Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.

    Dear Commissioner: This directive cancels and supersedes the 
directives issued to you on February 23, 1984, as amended, and July 
29, 1983, as amended, by the Chairman, Committee for the 
Implementation of Textile Agreements, that directed you to prohibit 
entry of certain cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend and other 
vegetable fiber textiles and textile products, produced or 
manufactured in China for which the Government of the People's 
Republic of China has not issued an appropriate export visa.
    Under the terms of section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, 
as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); and pursuant to the January 17, 1994 
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Governments of the 
United States and the People's Republic of China; and in accordance 
with the provisions of Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as 
amended, you are directed to prohibit, effective on May 15, 1995, 
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 
(see Annex A), produced or manufactured in China and exported from 
China on and after May 15, 1995, for which the Government of the 
People's Republic of China has not issued an appropriate export visa 
fully described below. Goods exported during the period May 15-31, 
1995 shall not be denied entry if visaed in accordance with the visa 
requirements in the directives dated February 23, 1984, as amended 
and July 29, 1983, as amended. 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.
    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 textile export license/
commercial invoice or successor document. The original visa shall 
not be stamped on duplicate copies of the invoice. The original 
license/invoice with the original visa stamp will be required to 
enter the shipment into the United States. Duplicates of the 
license/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 the People's Republic of China is 
``CN''), and a six digit numerical serial number identifying the 
shipment; e.g., 5CN123456.
    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 of the issuing official.
    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 or successor 
documents) 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 [[Page 22568]] 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'').
    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.
    If the visa is not acceptable then a new visa must be obtained 
from the Government of the People's Republic of China, replacement 
visa issued by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in 
Washington, DC., or a visa waiver may be issued by the Department of 
Commerce at the request of the Embassy of the People's Republic of 
China in Washington, DC., 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.
    Replacement visas shall consist of a textile export visa/invoice 
form bearing an official Chinese Embassy embossed stamp on the front 
and include the standard information required on an export visa and 
the signature of an official authorized by the Government of the 
People's Republic of China to issue replacement visas. The signature 
must match one of two original signatures of authorized officials 
provided to the Government of the United States of America by the 
Government of the People's Republic of China. U.S. Customs will not 
permit entry of the shipment if any of the information required on 
the replacement visa is missing, incorrect or illegible, or has been 
crossed out or altered in any way.
    If the visaed invoice is deficient, the U.S. Customs Service 
will not return the original document after entry, but will provide 
to the importer a certified copy of that visaed invoice or visa 
waiver.
    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 China 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 replacement visa or visa waiver is provided.
    The complete name and address of a company actually involved in 
the manufacturing process of the textile product covered by the visa 
shall be provided on the textile visa document.
    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.
    The existing visa stamp remains unchanged.
    The actions taken concerning the Government of the People's 
Republic of China 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.


                                 ANNEX A                                
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
Part Categories                                                         
224-V       Only HTS numbers 5801.21.0000, 5801.23.0000, 5801.24.0000,  
             5801.25.0010, 5801.25.0020, 5801.26.0010, 5801.26.0020,    
             5801.31.0000, 5801.33.0000, 5801.34.0000, 5801.35.0010,    
             5801.35.0020, 5801.36.0010 and 5801.36,0020.               
224-O       All HTS numbers in Category 224 except 224-V.               
338-S       All HTS numbers except 6109.10.0012, 6109.10.0014,          
             6109.10.0018 and 6109.10.0023.                             
339-S       All HTS numbers except 6109.10.0040, 6109.10.0045,          
             6109.10.0060 and 6109.10.0065.                             
340-Z       Only HTS numbers 6205.20.2015, 6205.20.2020, 6205.20.2050   
             and 6205.20.2060.                                          
341-Y       Only HTS numbers 6204.22.3060, 6206.30.3010, 6206.30.3030   
             and 6211.42.0054.                                          
359-C       Only HTS numbers 6103.42.2025, 6103.49.8034, 6104.62.1020,  
             6104.69.8010, 6114.20.0048, 6114.20.0052, 6203.42.2010,    
             6203.42.2090, 6204.62.2010, 6211.32.0010, 6211.32.0025 and 
             6211.42.0010.                                              
359-V       Only HTS numbers 6103.19.2030, 6103.19.9030, 6104.12.0040,  
             6104.19.8040, 6110.20.1022, 6110.20.1024, 6110.20.2030,    
             6110.20.2035, 6110.90.9044, 6110.90.9046, 6201.92.2010,    
             6202.92.2020, 6203.19.1030, 6203.19.9030, 6204.12.0040,    
             6204.19.8040, 6211.32.0070 and 6211.42.0070.               
359-O       All HTS numbers in Category 359 except 359-C and 359-V.     
360-P       Only HTS numbers 6302.21.3010, 6302.21.5010, 6302.21.7010,  
             6302.21.9010, 6302.31.3010, 6302.31.5010, 6302.31.7010 and 
             6302.31.9010.                                              
369-D       Only HTS numbers 6302.60.0010, 6302.91.0005 and             
             6302.91.0045.                                              
369-H       Only HTS numbers 4202.22.4020, 4202.22.4500 and             
             4202.22.8030.                                              
369-L       Only HTS numbers 4202.12.4000, 4202.12.8020, 4202.12.8060,  
             4202.92.1500, 4202.92.3015 and 4202.92.6090.               
369-S       Only HTS number 6307.10.2005.                               
369-O       All HTS numbers in Category 369 except 369-D, 369-H, 369-L  
             and 369-S.                                                 
410-A       Only HTS numbers 5111.11.3000, 5111.11.7030, 5111.11.7060,  
             5111.19.2000, 5111.19.6020, 5111.19.6040, 5111.19.6060,    
             5111.19.6080, 5111.20.9000, 5111.30.9000, 5111.90.3000,    
             5111.90.9000, 5212.11.1010, 5212.12.1010, 5212.13.1010,    
             5212.14.1010, 5212.15.1010, 5212.21.1010, 5212.22.1010,    
             5212.23.1010, 5212.24.1010, 5212.25.1010, 5311.00.2000,    
             5407.91.0510, 5407.92.0510, 5407.93.0510, 5407.94.0510,    
             5408.31.0510, 5408.32.0510, 5408.33.0510, 5408.34.0510,    
             5515.13.0510, 5515.22.0510, 5515.92.0510, 5516.31.0510,    
             5516.32.0510, 5516.33.0510, 5516.34.0510 and 6301.20.0020. 
410-B       Only HTS numbers 5007.10.6030, 5007.90.6030, 5112.11.2030,  
             5112.11.2060, 5112.19.9010, 5112.19.9020, 5112.19.9030,    
             5112.19.9040, 5112.19.9050, 5112.19.9060, 5112.20.3000,    
             5112.30.3000, 5112.90.3000, 5112.90.9010, 5112.90.9090,    
             5212.11.1020, 5212.12.1020, 5212.13.1020, 5212.14.1020,    
             5212.15.1020, 5212.21.1020, 5212.22.1020, 5212.23.1020,    
             5212.24.1020, 5212.25.1020, 5309.21.2000, 5309.29.2000,    
             5407.91.0520, 5407.92.0520, 5407.93.0520, 5407.94.0520,    
             5408.31.0520, 5408.32.0520, 5408.33.0520, 5408.34.0520,    
             5515.13.0520, 5515.22.0520, 5515.92.0520, 5516.31.0520,    
             5516.32.0520, 5516.33.0520 and 5516.34.0520.               
440-M       Only HTS numbers 6203.21.0030, 6203.23.0030, 6205.10.1000,  
             6205.10.2010, 6205.10.2020, 6205.30.1510, 6205.30.1520,    
             6205.90.3020, 6205.90.4020 and 6211.31.0030.               
604-A       Only HTS number 5509.32.0000.                               
604-O       All HTS numbers in Category 604 except 604-A.               
651-B       Only HTS numbers 6107.22.0015 and 6108.32.0015.             
659-C       Only HTS numbers 6103.23.0055, 6103.43.2020, 6103.43.2025,  
             6103.49.2000, 6103.49.8038, 6104.63.1020, 6104.63.1030,    
             6104.69.1000, 6104.69.8014, 6114.30.3044, 6114.30.3054,    
             6203.43.2010, 6203.43.2090, 6203.49.1010, 6203.49.1090,    
             6204.63.1510, 6204.69.1010, 6210.10.9010, 6211.33.0010,    
             6211.33.0017 and 6211.43.0010.                             
[[Page 22569]]                                                          
                                                                        
659-H       Only HTS numbers 6502.00.9030, 6504.00.9015, 6504.00.9060,  
             6505.90.5090, 6505.90.6090, 6505.90.7090 and 6505.90.8090. 
659-S       Only HTS numbers 6112.31.0010, 6112.31.0020, 6112.41.0010,  
             6112.41.0020, 6112.41.0030, 6112.41.0040, 6211.11.1010,    
             6211.11.1020, 6211.12.1010 and 6211.12.1020.               
659-O       All HTS numbers in Category 659 except 659-C, 659-H, and 659-
             S.                                                         
669-P       Only HTS numbers 6305.31.0010, 6305.31.0020 and             
             6305.39.0000.                                              
669-O       All HTS numbers in Category 669 except 669-P.               
670-L       Only HTS numbers 4202.12.8030, 4202.12.8070, 4202.92.3020,  
             4202.92.3030 and 4202.92.9025.                             
670-O       All HTS numbers in Category 670 except 670-L                
863-S       Only HTS number 6307.10.2015.                               
863-O       All HTS numbers in Category 863 except 863-S.               
                                                                        
Merged Categories                                                       
300/301                                                                 
317/326                                                                 
338/339                                                                 
338-S/339-S                                                             
347/348                                                                 
445/446                                                                 
638/639                                                                 
644/844                                                                 
645/646                                                                 
                                                                        

[FR Doc. 95-11259 Filed 5-5-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F