[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 250 (Friday, December 27, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68241-68242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-32985]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Man-
Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile 
Products Produced or Manufactured in Bangladesh

December 20, 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: Ross Arnold, 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 Bangladesh and exported during the period January 1, 
1997 through December 31, 1997 are based on the limits notified to the 
Textiles Monitoring Body pursuant to the

[[Page 68242]]

Uruguay Round Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round Agreement on 
Textiles and Clothing (ATC).
    In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the 
Commissioner of Customs to establish the limits for the 1997 period. 
The 1997 limits for Categories 338/339, 347/348 and 363 have been 
reduced for carryforward applied to the 1996 limits.
    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 61 FR 66263, published on December 17, 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 Uruguay Round Agreements Act and the ATC, 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 20, 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, man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textile 
products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in 
Bangladesh 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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
237.......................................  440,629 dozen.              
331.......................................  1,116,315 dozen pairs.      
334.......................................  134,426 dozen.              
335.......................................  241,362 dozen.              
336/636...................................  431,924 dozen.              
338/339...................................  1,181,800 dozen.            
340/640...................................  2,671,533 dozen             
341.......................................  2,343,153 dozen.            
342/642...................................  405,402 dozen.              
347/348...................................  1,991,808 dozen.            
351/651...................................  643,862 dozen.              
352/652...................................  9,605,759 dozen.            
363.......................................  22,667,619 numbers.         
369-S \1\.................................  1,608,700 kilograms.        
634.......................................  470,294 dozen.              
635.......................................  304,695 dozen.              
638/639...................................  1,498,738 dozen.            
641.......................................  981,144 dozen.              
645/646...................................  351,962 dozen.              
647/648...................................  1,326,313 dozen.            
847.......................................  704,223 dozen.              
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.                       

    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 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 to 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. 96-32985 Filed 12-26-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F