[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 133 (Friday, July 11, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37202-37204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-18207]
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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 Cotton,
Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and
Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Indonesia
July 7, 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: August 1, 1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janet Heinzen, 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 May 23, 1997 and June 23, 1997, the
Governments of the United States and Indonesia agreed to amend the
existing visa arrangement for cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend
and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products, produced or
manufactured in Indonesia and exported on and after August 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 Indonesia.
In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the
Commissioner of Customs to amend the existing visa requirements for
textile products, produced or manufactured in Indonesia and exported on
and after August 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
52 FR 20134, published on May 29, 1987.
Interested persons are advised to take all necessary steps to
ensure that textile products 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
July 7, 1997.
Commissioner of Customs,
Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.
Dear Commissioner: This directive amends, but does not cancel,
the directive issued to you on May 19, 1987, as amended, by the
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements,
that directed you to prohibit entry of certain cotton, wool, man-
made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and
textile products, produced or manufactured in Indonesia for which
the Government of Indonesia 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 the Export Visa
Arrangement, effected by exchange of notes dated May 23, 1997 and
June 23, 1997, between the Governments of the United States and
Indonesia; and in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order
11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, you are directed to prohibit,
effective on August 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; but not Categories 353/354
and 653/654, produced or manufactured in Indonesia and exported on
and after August 1, 1997 for which the Government of Indonesia has
not issued an appropriate export visa and Electronic Visa
Information System (ELVIS) transmission
[[Page 37203]]
fully described below. Should additional categories, part categories
or merged categories be added to or changed from those subject to
import quotas under the Bilateral Agreement and notified in
accordance with the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and
Clothing, the entire category or categories shall be automatically
included in the coverage of the Visa Arrangement. Merchandise
exported on or after the date the category is added to, or changed
in, the Agreement, or becomes subject to import quotas, shall
require a visa and ELVIS transmission.
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
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 Indonesia is ``ID''), and a six
digit numeric serial number identifying the shipment; e.g.,
7ID123456.
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 Indonesia.
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 Schedules of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA)
shall be reported in the spaces provided within the visa stamp
(e.g., ``Cat. 340-510 DOZ''; ``Cat. 369-S510KG''; ``Cat. 331/631-
510DPR''; ``Cat.317/617/326-510M2''; ``Cat.443-510NO'').
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., quota Category 347/348 may be visaed as ``Category 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,
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 Indonesian Government or a visa waiver issued by the U.S.
Department of Commerce at the request of the Indonesian Government
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
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 or attempted
entry, but will provide the importer a certified copy of that visaed
invoice for use in obtaining a new correct original visaed invoice
or a visa waiver.
If a shipment from Indonesia 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 visa 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 Indonesia is ``ID''), and a six
digit numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g.,
7ID123456.
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, Annotated, or
successor documents.
iv. The manufacturer ID number (MID). The MID shall begin with
``ID,'' followed by the first three characters from each of the
first two words of the name of the manufacturers, 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 Indonesia;
ii. if the ELVIS transmission for that shipment is missing any
of the following:
a. visa number
b. category or part 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, or the Customs broker
acting as an agent on behalf of the importer, with regard to any of
the following:
a. visa number
b. category or part category
c. unit of measure;
iv. if the quantity being entered is greater than the quantity
transmitted; or,
v. if the visa number has previously been used, except in the
case of a split shipment.
C. A new, correct ELVIS transmission from the country of origin
is required before a shipment that has been denied entry for one of
the circumstances in B.i-v will be released.
D. A new, correct ELVIS transmission from the country of origin
is required for entries made using a visa waiver under the procedure
described above. Visa waivers will only be considered for
classification purposes or for one time special purpose shipments
that are not part of an ongoing commercial enterprise.
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.
F. If a shipment from Indonesia 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, the shipment will be
charged to the correct category limit whether or not a replacement
visa or waiver is provided or a new ELVIS message is transmitted.
G. The Indonesian Government authorities may request a report
containing information on visa utilization from the U.S. Customs
Service as frequently as needed. This report will contain:
a. visa number
b. category number
c. quantity charged to quota
d. unit of measure
e. entry number
f. entry line number.
Shipments Not Requiring Visas:
Merchandise imported for the personal use of the importer and
not for resale, regardless of value, and properly marked commercial
sample shipments valued at U.S. $250 or less do not require a visa
or an ELVIS transmission for entry and shall not be charged to
Agreement levels.
Other Provisions:
Except as provided in the paragraph above, any shipment which
requires a visa but which is not accompanied by a valid and correct
visa and ELVIS transmission in accordance with the foregoing
provisions, shall be denied entry by the Government of the United
States of America unless the Government of Indonesia authorizes the
entry and any charges to the Agreement levels.
The visa stamp remains unchanged.
The actions taken concerning the Government of Indonesia with
respect to imports of 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
[[Page 37204]]
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. 97-18207 Filed 7-10-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F