[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 239 (Wednesday, December 11, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65197-65198]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-31461]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton and 
Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Nepal

December 5, 1996.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing 
limits.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janet Heinzen, 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).

    The Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected by exchange of notes 
dated May 30 and June 1, 1986, as amended and extended, and a 
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated November 6, 1996, between the 
Governments of the United States and Nepal establish limits for the 
period January 1, 1997 through December 31, 1997.
    These limits are subject to revision pursuant to the Uruguay Round 
Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing 
(ATC). On the date that Nepal becomes a member of the World Trade 
Organization the restraint limits will be modified in accordance with 
the ATC.
    In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the

[[Page 65198]]

Commissioner of Customs to establish the 1997 limits. The limit for 
Category 340 has been reduced for carryforward and special carryforward 
applied in 1996.
    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.
    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 bilateral agreement and MOU, 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
December 5, 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 Bilateral Textile 
Agreement, effected by exchange of notes datead May 30 and June 1, 
1986, as amended and extended, and a Memorandum of Understanding 
dated November 6, 1996 between the Governments of the United States 
and Nepal; 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 
and man-made fiber textile products in the following categories, 
produced or manufactured in Nepal and exported during the twelve-
month period beginning on January 1, 1997 and extending through 
December 31, 1997, in excess of the following levels of restraint:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Category                   Twelve-month restraint limit
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336/636...................................  220,957 dozen.              
340.......................................  260,067 dozen.              
341.......................................  1,025,084 dozen.            
342/642...................................  278,530 dozen.              
347/348...................................  718,826 dozen.              
369-S \1\.................................  900,000 kilograms.          
640.......................................  160,617 dozen.              
641.......................................  362,151 dozen.              
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\1\ Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.                       

    Imports charged to these category limits, except Category 369-S, 
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.
    Should Nepal become a member of the World Trade Organization, 
the limits set forth above will be subject to adjustment in the 
future pursuant to the provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements 
Act, the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing and any 
administrative arrangements notified to the Textiles Monitoring 
Body.
    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 
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. 96-31461 Filed 12-10-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F