[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 248 (Monday, December 29, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67626-67627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-33700]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


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

December 19, 1997.
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, 1998.

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: Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as 
amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as 
amended.

    The import restraint limits for textile products, produced or 
manufactured in the Mauritius and exported during the period January 1, 
1998 through December 31, 1998 are based on limits notified to the 
Textiles Monitoring Body pursuant to 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 1998 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). 
Information regarding the 1998 CORRELATION will be published in the 
Federal Register at a later date.
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
December 19, 1997.

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); Executive Order 11651 of 
March 3, 1972, as amended; and the Uruguay Round Agreement on 
Textiles and Clothing (ATC), you are directed to prohibit, effective 
on January 1, 1998, entry into the United States 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 the following categories, produced or manufactured in 
Mauritius and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on 
January 1, 1998 and extending through December 31, 1998, in excess 
of the following levels of restraint:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Category                   Twelve-month restraint limit
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Knit Group                                                              
345, 438, 445, 446, 645 and 646, as a       181,759 dozen.              
 group.                                                                 
Levels not in a group                                                   
237.......................................  234,389 dozen.              
335/835...................................  93,171 dozen.               
336.......................................  109,640 dozen.              
338/339...................................  438,931 dozen.              
340/640...................................  714,329 dozen of which not  
                                             more than 434,830 dozen    
                                             shall be in Categories 340-
                                             Y/640-Y \1\.               

[[Page 67627]]

                                                                        
341/641...................................  494,832 dozen.              
347/348...................................  923,930 dozen.              
351/651...................................  217,297 dozen.              
352/652...................................  1,842,673 dozen of which not
                                             more than 1,566,274 dozen  
                                             shall be in Category 352.  
442.......................................  11,987 dozen.               
604-A \2\.................................  402,406 kilograms.          
638/639...................................  504,772 dozen.              
647/648/847...............................  680,654 dozen.              
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Category 340-Y: only HTS numbers 6205.20.2015, 6205.20.2020,        
  6205.20.2046, 6205.20.2050 and 6205.20.2060; Category 640-Y: only HTS 
  numbers 6205.30.2010, 6205.30.2020, 6205.30.2050 and 6205.30.2060.    
\2\ Category 604-A: only HTS number 5509.32.0000.                       

    The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment pursuant to 
the provisions of the ATC and administrative arrangements notified 
to the Textiles Monitoring Body.
    Products in the above categories exported during 1997 shall be 
charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see 
directive dated October 28, 1996) to the extent of any unfilled 
balances. In the event the limits established for that period have 
been exhausted by previous entries, such products shall be charged 
to the limits set forth in this directive.
    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,
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. 97-33700 Filed 12-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F