[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 13, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 31146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-14364]



=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations 
With the Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 
Certain Wool Textile Products

June 6, 1995.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne Novak, 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 May 26, 1995, under the terms of Section 204 of the Agricultural 
Act of 1956, as amended, the Government of the United States requested 
consultations with the Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia with respect to wool textile products in Category 434, 
produced or manufactured in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
    The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no 
solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of the 
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Committee for the 
Implementation of Textile Agreements may later establish a limit for 
the entry and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of wool textile 
products in Category 434, produced or manufactured in the Former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and exported during the twelve-month 
period which began on May 26, 1995 and extends through May 25, 1996, at 
a level of not less than 8,226 dozen.
    A statement of serious damage concerning Category 434 follows this 
notice.
    Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding 
the treatment of Category 434, or to comment on domestic production or 
availability of products included in Category 434, 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 the Former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia.
    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 Category 434. Should such a solution be reached in 
consultations with the Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia, 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
Macedonia
Men's and Boys' Wool Coats Other Than Suit Type--Category 434
May 1995
Import Situation and Conclusion
    U.S. imports of men's and boys' wool coats other than suit type, 
Category 434, from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia reached 
8,226 dozen for the year ending February 1995, 79 percent above the 
4,602 dozen imported in the year ending February 1994. Imports from 
were 4.4 percent of total U.S. imports of Category 434 for the year 
ending February 1995, and were equivalent to 5.4 percent of U.S. 
production of Category 434 in calendar year 1994.
    U.S. imports men's and boys' non-suit type wool coats, Category 
434, from during 1994 entered the U.S. at an average landed duty-paid 
value of $658.37 per dozen, 39 percent below U.S. producers' average 
price for men's and boys' wool coats other than suit type.
    The sharp and substantial increase of low priced imports from the 
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is causing serious damage to the 
U.S. market for men's and boys' wool coats other than suit type.
U.S. Production, Import Penetration, and Market Share
    U.S. production of men's and boys' wool coats other than suit type, 
Category 434, declined in 1994, falling to 151,000 dozen, 4 percent 
below the 1993 production level. In contrast imports of Category 434 
surged to 190,000 dozen in 1994, 42 percent above the 134,000 dozen 
imported in 1993.
    The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 85 
percent in 1993 to 125 percent in 1994. The share of this market held 
by domestic manufacturers fell from 54 percent in 1993, to 44 percent 
in 1994, a ten percentage point decline.

[FR Doc. 95-14364 Filed 6-12-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F