[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 232 (Monday, December 4, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62076-62077]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-29468]
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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 Mauritius
November 28, 1995.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).
ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing
export visa requirements.
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EFFECTIVE DATE: December 1, 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).
The Governments of the United States and Mauritius agreed to
establish 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 Mauritius and exported from
Mauritius on and after December 1, 1995. Goods exported during the
period December 1, 1995 through December 31, 1995 shall not be denied
entry for lack of a visa. All goods exported after January 1, 1996 must
be accompanied by an appropriate export visa.
In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the
Commissioner of Customs to prohibit entry of certain textile products,
produced or manufactured in Mauritius and exported from Mauritius on
and after December 1, 1995 for which the Government of the Mauritius
has not issued an appropriate export visa.
A facsimile of export visa stamp is on file at the U.S. Department
of Commerce in Room 3100.
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).
Information regarding the 1996 CORRELATION will be published in the
Federal Register at a later date.
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 and certification requirements set forth in the letter
published below to the Commissioner of Customs.
Philip J. Martello,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile
Agreements.
Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
November 28, 1995.
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); pursuant to
the Export Visa Arrangement of September 12, 1995 between the
Governments of the United States and Mauritius; and in accordance
with the provisions of Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as
amended, you are directed to prohibit, effective on December 1,
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, produced or manufactured in Mauritius and exported from
Mauritius on and after December 1, 1995 for which the Government of
the Mauritius has not issued an appropriate export visa fully
described below. Should additional categories, merged categories or
part categories become subject to import quota the entire
category(s) or part category(s) shall be included in the coverage of
this arrangement. Goods exported during the period December 1, 1995
through December 31, 1995 shall not be denied entry for lack of an
export 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 Mauritius is ``MU''), and a six
digit numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g.,
5MU123456.
2. The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day,
month and year on which the visa was issued.
3. The original signature of the issuing official and the
printed name of the issuing official of the Government of Mauritius.
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, annotated or
successor documents shall be reported in the spaces provided within
the visa stamp (e.g., ``Cat. 434-210 DZ'').
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 ``Category 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 product covered by the visa
shall be provided on the front of the textile document.
If the visa is not acceptable then a new correct visa or a visa
waiver must be presented to the U.S. Customs Service before any
portion of the shipment will be released. A visa waiver may be
issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce at the request of the
Government of Mauritius. The waiver, if used, only waives the
requirement to present a visa with the shipment. It does not waive
the quota requirement.
If the visaed invoice is deficient, the U.S. Customs Service
will not return the original document after entry, but will provide
a certified copy of that visaed invoice for use in obtaining a new
correct original visaed invoice, or a 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 Mauritius has been allowed entry into the
commerce of the
[[Page 62077]]
United States with either an incorrect visa or no visa, and redelivery
is requested but cannot be made, the shipment will be charged to the
correct category limit whether or not a replacement visa or waiver
is provided.
Merchandise imported for the personal use of the importer and
not for resale, regardless of value, and properly marked or
commercial sample shipments valued at U.S.$250 or less, do not
require an export visa for entry and shall not be charged to
existing quota levels.
A facsimile of the visa stamp is enclosed.
The actions taken concerning the Government of Mauritius 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,
Philip J. Martello,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile
Agreements.
[FR Doc. 95-29468 Filed 12-1-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F