[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 8, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17156-17157]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-9122]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Establishment of a New Export Visa Arrangement for Certain 
Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber 
Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in the Former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

April 2, 1998.
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: May 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roy Unger, International Trade 
Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, (202) 482-4212.

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 Governments of the United States and the Former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia agreed to establish a new Export Visa Arrangement 
for certain cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend and other 
vegetable fiber textiles and textile products, produced or manufactured 
in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and exported from the 
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on and after May 1, 1998. 
Products exported during the period May 1, 1998 through May 31, 1998 
shall not be denied entry for lack of a visa. All products exported 
after May 31, 1998 must be accompanied by an appropriate export visa.
    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 the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
and exported from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia for which 
the Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has not 
issued an appropriate export visa.
    A facsimile of 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 Federal 
Register notice 62 FR 66057, published on December 17, 1997).
    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
April 2, 1998.

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 Bilateral Textile Agreement of 
November 7, 1997, between the Governments of the United States and 
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, you are directed to 
prohibit, effective on May 1, 1998, entry into

[[Page 17157]]

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, produced or manufactured in the Former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia and exported from the Former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia on and after May 1, 1998 for which the Government of 
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has not issued an 
appropriate export visa fully described below. Should merged 
categories or part categories become subject to import quota, the 
merged or part category(s) automatically shall be included in the 
coverage of this arrangement. Merchandise in the merged or part 
category(s) exported on or after the date the merged or part 
category(s) is added to the agreement or becomes subject to import 
quotas shall require a visa. Products exported during the period May 
1, 1998 through May 31, 1998 shall not be denied entry for lack of 
an export visa.
    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 or 
successor document. 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 the Former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia is ``MK''), and a six digit numerical serial number 
identifying the shipment; e.g., 8MK123456.
    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 Former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
    4. The correct category(s), merged category(s), part 
category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity of 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. 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 347 merchandise, the shipment may be 
visaed as ``Cat. 347,'' but not as ``Cat. 348''). If, however, a 
merged quota category such as 340/640 has a quota sublimit on 
Category 340, then there must be a ``Category 340'' visa for the 
shipment if it includes Category 340 merchandise.
    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. 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.
    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.
    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 
Embassy of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in Washington, 
DC, for the Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. 
The waiver, if used, only waives the requirement to present a visa 
with the shipment. It does not waive the quota requirement.
    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 the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
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 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 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). This 
letter will be published in the Federal Register.
    Sincerely,
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. 98-9122 Filed 4-7-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE CODE 3510-DR-F