[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 228 (Monday, November 25, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59865-59866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-30048]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits and Guaranteed Access 
Levels for Certain Cotton, Wool and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products 
Produced or Manufactured in Honduras

November 19, 1996.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing 
import limits and guaranteed access levels.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Aldrich, International Trade 
Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, (202) 482-4212. For information on the quota status of these 
limits, refer to the Quota Status Reports posted on the bulletin boards 
of each Customs port or call (202) 927-5850. For information on 
embargoes and quota re-openings, call (202) 482-3715.

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); Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

    The import restraint limits for textile products, produced or 
manufactured in Honduras and exported during the period January 1, 1997 
through December 31, 1997, are based on limits notified to the Textiles 
Monitoring Body pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act and the 
Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). The Guaranteed 
Access Levels are being established pursuant to a Memorandum of 
Understanding (MOU) dated September 15, 1995 between the Governments of 
the United States and Honduras.
    In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the 
Commissioner of Customs to establish the 1997 limits and guaranteed 
access levels.
    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). 
Information regarding the 1997 CORRELATION will be published in the 
Federal Register at a later date.
    Requirements for participation in the Special Access Program are 
available in Federal Register notices 51 FR 21208, published on June 
11, 1986; 52 FR 26057, published on July 10, 1987; 54 FR 50425, 
published on December 6, 1989; 61 FR 38236, published on July 23, 1996, 
and 61 FR 49439, published on September 20, 1996.
    The letter to the Commissioner of Customs and the actions taken 
pursuant to it are not designed to implement all of the provisions of 
the MOU, the Uruguay Round Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round 
Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, but are designed to assist only in 
the implementation of certain of their provisions.
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
November 19, 1996.

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

    Dear Commissioner: Pursuant to section 204 of the Agricultural 
Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854), the Uruguay Round 
Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and 
Clothing (ATC); and in accordance with the provisions of Executive 
Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, you are directed to 
prohibit, effective on January 1, 1997, entry into the United States 
for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of 
cotton, wool and man-made fiber textile products in the following 
categories, produced or manufactured in Honduras and exported during 
the period beginning on January 1, 1997 and extending through 
December 31, 1997, in excess of the following restraint limits:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Category                        Twelve-month limit     
------------------------------------------------------------------------
352/652...................................  10,674,200 dozen of which   
                                             not more than 7,865,200    
                                             dozen shall be in          
                                             Categories 352-K/652-K \1\.
435.......................................  14,982 dozen.               
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\1\ Category 352-K: only HTS numbers 6107.11.0010, 6107.11.0020,        
  6108.19.9010, 6108.21.0010, 6108.21.0020, 6108.91.0005, 6108.91.0015, 
  6108.91.0025, 6109.10.0005, 6109.10.0007, 6109.10.0009, 6109.10.0037; 
  Category 652-K: 6107.12.0010, 6107.12.0020, 6108.11.0010,             
  6108.11.0020, 6108.22.9020, 6108.22.9030, 6108.92.0005, 6108.92.0015, 
  6108.92.0025, 6109.90.1047 and 6109.90.1075.                          

    Imports charged to these category limits for the period January 
1, 1996 through December 31, 1996 shall be charged against those 
levels of restraint to the extent of any unfilled balances. In the 
event the limits established for that period have been exhausted by 
previous entries, such goods shall be subject to the levels set 
forth in this directive.
    The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment in the 
future according to the provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements 
Act, the ATC and any administrative arrangements notified to the 
Textiles Monitoring Body.
    Additionally, pursuant to the Special Access Program, as set 
forth in 51 FR 21208 (June 11, 1986), 52 FR 26057 (July 10, 1987), 
54 FR 50425 (December 6, 1989), 61 FR 49439 (September 20, 1996), 
effective on January 1, 1997, guaranteed access levels are being 
established for properly certified textile products assembled in 
Honduras from fabric formed and cut in the United States in textile 
products in the following categories which are re-exported to the 
United States from Honduras during the period January 1, 1997 
through December 31, 1997 in the following amounts:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Category                      Guaranteed Access Level  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
352/652...................................  50,000,000 dozen.           
435.......................................  35,000 dozen.               
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Any shipment for entry under the Special Access Program which is 
not accompanied by a valid and correct certification and Export 
Declaration in accordance with the provisions of the certification 
requirements established in the directive of July 18, 1996 shall be 
denied entry unless the Government of the Republic of Honduras 
authorizes the entry and any charges to the appropriate specific 
limit. Any shipment which is declared for entry under the Special 
Access Program but found not to qualify shall be denied entry into 
the United States.
    In carrying out the above directions, the Commissioner of 
Customs should construe entry into the United States for consumption 
to include entry for consumption into the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico.
    The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has 
determined that these actions fall within the foreign affairs

[[Page 59866]]

exception of the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).
    Sincerely,
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
[FR Doc.96-30048 Filed 11-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F