[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 1, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15465-15467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-8239]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Consolidation and Amendment of Export Visa Requirements to 
Include the Electronic Visa Information System for Certain Silk 
Apparel, Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable 
Fiber Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in the 
People's Republic of China

March 27, 1997.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs 
consolidating and amending visa requirements.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: April 1, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Aldrich, 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 a Memorandum of Understanding dated February 1, 1997, the 
Governments of the United States and the People's Republic of China 
agreed to amend the existing visa arrangements for silk apparel and 
textile products, produced or manufactured in China and exported on and 
after April 1, 1997. The amended arrangement consolidates existing 
provisions and new provisions for the Electronic Visa Information 
System (ELVIS). In addition to the ELVIS requirements, shipments will 
continue to be accompanied by an original visa stamped on the front of 
the original commercial invoice issued by the Government of the 
People's Republic of China.
    In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the 
Commissioner of Customs to amend the existing visa requirements for 
silk apparel and textile products, produced or manufactured in China 
and exported on and after April 1, 1997.
    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 62 FR 66263, published on December 17, 1996). Also see 
59 FR 35324, published on July 11, 1994; and 60 FR 22567, published on 
May 8, 1995.
    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.
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
March 27, 1997.

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

    Dear Commissioner: This directive amends, but does not cancel, 
the directives issued to you on July 5, 1994, as amended, and May 3, 
1995, as amended, by the Chairman, Committee for the Implementation 
of Textile Agreements, that directed you to prohibit entry of 
certain silk apparel, cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend and 
other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products, produced or 
manufactured in China for which the Government of the People's 
Republic of China has not issued an appropriate export visa.
    Under the terms of section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, 
as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); pursuant to a Memorandum of 
Understanding dated February 1, 1997, between the Governments of the 
United States and the People's Republic of China; and in accordance 
with the provisions of Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as 
amended, you are directed to prohibit, effective on April 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 cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable 
fiber textiles and textile products in Categories 200-239, 300-369, 
400-469, 600-670 and 800-899, including part categories and merged 
categories; and silk apparel in Categories 733-736, 738-748, 750-752 
and 758-759, produced or manufactured in China and exported on and 
after April 1, 1997 for which the Government of the People's 
Republic of China has not issued an appropriate export visa or 
Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS) transmission fully 
described below. Should additional categories, part categories or 
merged categories be added to the bilateral agreement or become 
subject to import quota the entire category(s), part category(s) or 
merged category(s) shall be included in the coverage of this 
arrangement.
    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 textile export license/
commercial invoice or successor document. The license will be 
printed on a colored guilloche patterned background. The original 
visa shall not be stamped on duplicate copies of the invoice.

[[Page 15466]]

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 the People's Republic of China 
is ``CN''), and a six digit numerical serial number identifying the 
shipment; e.g., 7CN123456.
    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 of the 
Government of the People's Republic of China.
    4. The correct category(s), merged category(s), part 
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 (HTS or successor 
documents) shall be reported in the spaces provided within the visa 
stamp (e.g., ``Cat. 340-510 DOZ'').
    Quantities must be stated in whole numbers. Decimals or 
fractions will not be accepted. Merged category quota merchandise 
may be accompanied by either the appropriate merged category visa or 
the correct category visa corresponding to the actual shipment 
(e.g., Categories 347/348 may be visaed as 347/348 or if the 
shipment consists solely of Category 347 merchandise, the shipment 
may be visaed as ``Category 347,'' but not as ``Category 348'').
    U.S. Customs shall not permit entry if the shipment does not 
have a visa, or if the visa number, date of issuance, signature, 
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. 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 charged to any applicable quota.
    If the visa is not acceptable then a new visa must be obtained 
from the Government of the People's Republic of China, replacement 
visa issued by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in 
Washington, DC, or a visa waiver may be issued by the U.S. 
Department of Commerce at the request of the Embassy of the People's 
Republic of China in Washington, DC, and presented to the U.S. 
Customs Service before any portion of the shipment will be released. 
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 legitimate classification disputes 
between the Governments of the People's Republic of China and the 
United States of America or for one-time special purpose shipments 
that are not part of an ongoing commercial enterprise.
    Replacement visas shall consist of a textile export visa/invoice 
form bearing an official Chinese Embassy embossed stamp on the front 
and include the standard information required on an export visa and 
the signature of an official authorized by the Government of the 
People's Republic of China to issue replacement visas. The signature 
must match one of two original signatures of authorized officials 
provided to the United States Government by the Government of the 
People's Republic of China. The U.S. Customs Service will not permit 
entry of the shipment if any of the information required on the 
replacement visa is missing, incorrect or illegible, or has been 
crossed out or altered in any way.
    If the visaed invoice is deficient, the U.S. Customs Service 
will not return the original document after entry, but will provide 
the importer a certified copy of that visaed invoice or visa waiver. 
For particular cases, upon written request by the Government of the 
People's Republic of China, the U.S. Customs Service will provide 
the original visa for China.
    If a shipment from the People's Republic of China has been 
allowed entry into the commerce of the United States with incorrect 
documentation, 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.
    ELVIS Requirements:
    A. Each ELVIS message will include the following information:
    I. 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 China is ``CN''), and a six 
digit numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g., 
7CN123456.
    II. The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day, 
month and year on which the visa was issued.
    III. The correct category(s), merged category(s), part 
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 (HTS or successor 
documents).
    IV. The quantity of the shipment in the correct units of 
quantity.
    V. The manufacturer ID number (MID). The MID shall begin with 
``CN,'' followed by the first three characters from each of the 
first two words of the name of the manufacturer, followed by the 
largest number on the address line up to the first four digits, 
followed by three letters from the city name.
    B. Entry of a shipment shall not be permitted:
    I. if an ELVIS transmission has not been received for the 
shipment from China;
    II. if the ELVIS transmission for that shipment is missing any 
of the following:
    a. visa number
    b. category, part category or merged category
    c. quantity
    d. unit of measure
    e. date of issuance
    f. manufacturer ID number
    III. if the ELVIS transmission for the shipment does not match 
the information supplied by the importer with regard to any of the 
following:
    a. visa number
    b. category or part category or merged category
    c. unit of measure
    d. quantity
    IV. if the quantity being entered is greater than the quantity 
transmitted.
    V. if the visa number has previously been used, except in the 
case of a split shipment, or cancelled, except when an entry has 
been made using the visa number.
    C. A new, correct ELVIS transmission from China is required 
before a shipment that has been denied entry for one of the 
circumstances mentioned in paragraph 3.B.I-V will be released.
    D. A new, correct ELVIS transmission from China is required for 
entries made using a visa waiver under the procedures as previously 
described. Visa waivers will only be considered for paragraph 
3.B.I., if the shipment qualifies as a one-time special purpose 
shipment that is not part of an ongoing commercial enterprise, or 
legitimate classification disputes.
    E. Shipments will not be released for forty-eight hours in the 
event of a system failure. If system failure exceeds forty-eight 
hours, for the remaining period of the system failure the U.S. 
Customs Service will release shipments on the basis of the paper 
visaed document.
    The People's Republic of China will retransmit all visa 
information not transmitted during the failure once the system 
becomes operational. If there is a visa or visas that are not on 
file in the system or do not match information on the file after re-
transmission, the U.S. will give prompt notice of detailed 
information to China for verification, a demand for redelivery 
should be made.
    ELVIS transmission will be stopped on Saturdays, Sundays and 
Chinese holidays, which should not be considered as system failures.
    F. The U.S. Customs Service will confirm daily the receipt of 
the visa transmission by China and provide China (the Ministry of 
Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation) with a daily electronic 
message report on visa utilization which is accessible at any time 
for any quantities. This electronic message for each specific visa 
will contain:
    a. visa number
    b. category number
    c. unit of measurement
    d. quantity charged to quota
    e. entry number
    G. If a shipment from China is allowed entry into the commerce 
of the United States with an incorrect visa, no visa, an incorrect 
ELVIS transmission, or no ELVIS transmission, and redelivery is 
requested but cannot be made, and after the Government of the 
People's Republic of China does not issue a visa or ELVIS 
transmission, or request a visa waiver (if applicable), the shipment 
will be charged to the correct category limit whether or not a 
replacement visa, visa waiver or new ELVIS message is transmitted.

[[Page 15467]]

Should either party disagree on such quota charge, both parties 
agree to hold technical consultation for verification on categories 
and quantities charged upon request of the party.
    4. Other Requirements:
    A. 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 textile visa document.
    B. Merchandise imported for the personal use of the importer and 
not for resale, regardless of value; properly marked commercial 
sample shipments valued at U.S. $250 or less; and mutually agreed 
exempt items certified as exempt by the Government of the People's 
Republic of China do not require a visa or an ELVIS transmission for 
entry.
    The visa stamp remains unchanged.
    The actions taken concerning the Government of the People's 
Republic of China with respect to imports of silk apparel, textiles 
and textile products in the foregoing categories 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,
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. 97-8239 Filed 3-28-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F