[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 77 (Friday, April 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17279-17280]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-9619]



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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations 
with the Government of the Ukraine on Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber 
Textile Products

April 15, 1996.
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 March 29, 1996, in accordance with Section 204 of the 
Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended, the Government of the United 
States requested consultations with the Government of the Ukraine with 
respect to cotton and man-made fiber woven shirts in Categories 340/
640, produced or manufactured in the Ukraine.
    The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no 
solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of the 
Ukraine, the

[[Page 17280]]

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements may later 
establish a limit for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse for 
consumption of man-made fiber textile products in Categories 340/640, 
produced or manufactured in the Ukraine and exported during the twelve-
month period which began on March 29, 1996 and extends through March 
28, 1997, at a level of not less than 406,469 dozen.
    A statement of serious damage concerning Categories 340/640 follows 
this notice.
    Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding 
the treatment of Categories 340/640, or to comment on domestic 
production or availability of products included in Categories 340/640, 
is invited to submit 10 copies of such comments or information to Troy 
H. Cribb, 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 Ukraine.
    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 
implementation of an agreement 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 340/640. Should such a solution be reached in 
consultations with the Government of the Ukraine, 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 60 FR 65299, published on December 19, 1995).
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Statement of Serious Damage--Ukraine
Cotton and Manmade Fiber Men's and Boys' Woven Shirts--Category 340/640
March 1996
Import Situation and Conclusion
    U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber men's and boys' woven 
shirts, Category 340/640, from the Ukraine reached 406,469 dozen in 
1995, more than double the 185,803 dozen imported in 1994. Imports from 
the Ukraine were 1.1 percent of total U.S. imports of Category 340/640 
in 1995, and were equivalent to 3.1 percent of U.S. production of 
Category 340/640 for the year-ending September 1995.
    U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber men's and boys' woven 
shirts, Category 340/640, from the Ukraine entered the U.S. at an 
average landed duty-paid value of $60.62 per dozen in 1995, 58 percent 
below the average U.S. producers' price for cotton and manmade fiber 
men's and boys' woven shirts.
    The sharp and substantial increase of low-valued Category 340/640 
imports from the Ukraine is causing serious damage to the U.S. industry 
producing cotton and manmade fiber men's and boys' woven shirts.
U.S. Production, Import Penetration, and Market Share
    U.S. production of cotton and manmade fiber men's and boys' woven 
shirts, Category 340/640, fell from 13,880,000 dozen in 1992 to 
13,292,000 dozen in 1993, a decline of 4 percent. Domestic production 
increased by 2 percent in 1994 to 13,589,000 dozen but remained 2 
percent below the 1992 level. Domestic production of cotton and manmade 
fiber men's and boys' woven shirts declined in 1995, falling to 
9,459,000 dozen in the first nine months of 1995, 5 percent below the 
January-September 1994 level. The year-ending September 1995 production 
level at 13,096,000 dozen was 4 percent below the calendar year 1994 
level and 6 percent below the 1992 level. In contrast, imports of 
Category 340/640 increased every year since 1992, rising from 
30,395,000 dozen in 1992 to 35,908,000 dozen in 1995, 18 percent above 
the 1992 level.
    The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 219 
percent in 1992 to 242 percent in 1994 and reached 295 percent in the 
first nine months of 1995. The share of the U.S. market for cotton and 
manmade fiber men's and boys' woven shirts held by domestic 
manufacturers fell from 27 percent in 1992 to 22 percent in 1994, and 
to 18 percent during January-September 1995.
[FR Doc. 96-9619 Filed 4-18-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F