[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 21 (Friday, January 31, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4729-4730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2401]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Establishment of a New Export Visa Arrangement for Certain Wool 
Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Russia

January 28, 1997.
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: March 1, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naomi Freeman, 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).

    In exchange of notes dated October 22, 1996 and December 31, 1996, 
the Governments of the United States and the Russian Federation agreed 
to establish a new Export Visa Arrangement for wool textile products in 
Category 435, produced or manufactured in Russia and exported from 
Russia on and after March 1, 1997.
    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 Russia and exported from Russia on and 
after March 1, 1997 for which the Government of the Russian Federation 
has not issued an appropriate export visa.
    A facsimile of the 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

[[Page 4730]]

Federal Register notice 61 FR 66263, published on December 17, 1996).
    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for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will meet 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 requirements set forth in the letter published below to the 
Commissioner of Customs.
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
January 28, 1997.

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, effected by exchange of notes dated 
October 22, 1996 and December 31, 1996, between the Governments of 
the United States and the Russian Federation; and in accordance with 
the provisions of Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as 
amended, you are directed to prohibit, effective on March 1, 1997, 
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 wool textile products in Category 435, produced or manufactured 
in Russia and exported from Russia on and after March 1, 1997 for 
which the Government of the Russian Federation has not issued an 
appropriate export visa fully described below.
    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 numeric 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 Russia is ``RU''), and a six 
digit numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g., 
7RU123456.
    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 the 
Russian Federation.
    4. The correct 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. 435-510 DZ'').
    Quantities must be stated in whole numbers. Decimals or 
fractions will not be accepted.
    U.S. Customs shall not permit entry if the shipment does not 
have a visa, or if the visa number, date of issuance, signature, 
printed name of the signer, 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. 
Nevertheless, the shipment shall be allowed to enter a bonded 
warehouse and to be withdrawn for consumption into the Customs 
territory of the United States within the limits of the amount 
indicated on the visa. 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 counted as imports from the Russian 
Federation.
    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 
competent authorities in Washington for the Government of the 
Russian Federation. The waiver, if used, only waives the requirement 
to present a visa with the shipment. It does not waive the quota 
requirement. Visa waivers will only be issued for classification 
purposes or for one time special purpose shipments that are not part 
of an ongoing commercial enterprise.
    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 Russia has been allowed entry into the 
commerce of the 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 the Russian 
Federation with respect to imports of textile products in the 
foregoing category 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,
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.
[FR Doc. 97-2401 Filed 1-30-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F