[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 216 (Monday, November 9, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 60305]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-29977]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Announcement of Import Restraint Limits and Guaranteed Access 
Levels for Certain Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber and Other Vegetable 
Fiber Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Jamaica

November 3, 1998.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing 
limits and guaranteed access levels.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naomi Freeman, 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, call (202) 927-5850, or refer to the U.S. Customs 
website at http://www.customs.ustreas.gov. 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 and Guaranteed Access Levels (GALs) for 
textile products, produced or manufactured in Jamaica and exported 
during the period January 1, 1999 through December 31, 1999 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 limits and guaranteed access 
levels for the period January 1, 1999 through December 31, 1999.
    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). 
Information regarding the 1999 CORRELATION will be published in the 
Federal Register at a later date.
    Requirements for participation in the Special Access Program are 
available in Federal Register notice 63 FR 16474, published on April 3, 
1998.
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
November 3, 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 Uruguay Round Agreement on 
Textiles and Clothing (ATC), you are directed to prohibit, effective 
on January 1, 1999, entry into the United States for consumption and 
withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton, wool, man-made 
fiber and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products in the 
following categories, produced or manufactured in Jamaica and 
exported during the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 1999 
and extending through December 31, 1999, in excess of the following 
levels of restraint:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Category                   Twelve-month restraint limit
------------------------------------------------------------------------
331/631................................  745,113 dozen pairs.
338/339/638/639........................  1,469,168 dozen.
340/640................................  687,021 dozen of which not more
                                          than 581,326 dozen shall be in
                                          shirts made from fabrics with
                                          two or more colors in the warp
                                          and/or the filling in
                                          Categories 340-Y/640-Y \1\.
341/641................................  862,688 dozen.
345/845................................  212,872 dozen.
347/348/647/648........................  1,585,783 dozen.
352/652................................  2,369,458 dozen.
445/446................................  53,978 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.

    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 1998 shall be 
charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see 
directive dated November 24, 1997) 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.
    Also pursuant to the ATC; and under the terms of the Special 
Access Program, as set forth in 63 FR 16474 (April 3, 1998), you are 
directed to establish guaranteed access levels for properly 
certified cotton, wool, man-made fiber and other vegetable fiber 
textile products in the following categories which are assembled in 
Jamaica from fabric formed and cut in the United States and re-
exported to the United States from Jamaica during the twelve-month 
period which begins on January 1, 1999 and extends through December 
31, 1999:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Category                     Guaranteed Access Level
------------------------------------------------------------------------
331/631................................  1,320,000 dozen pairs.
336/636................................  125,000 dozen.
338/339/638/639........................  1,500,000 dozen.
340/640................................  300,000 dozen.
341/641................................  375,000 dozen.
342/642................................  200,000 dozen.
345/845................................  50,000 dozen.
347/348/647/648........................  2,000,000 dozen.
352/652................................  10,500,000 dozen.
447....................................  30,000 dozen.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Any shipment for entry under the Special Access Program which is 
not accompanied by a valid and correct certification in accordance 
with the provisions of the certification requirements established in 
the directive of February 19, 1987 shall be denied entry unless the 
Government of Jamaica authorizes the entry and any charges to the 
appropriate specific limits. Any shipment which is declared for 
entry under the Special Access Program but found not to qualify 
shall be denied entry into the United States.
    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 U.S.C.553(a)(1).
    Sincerely,
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.
[FR Doc. 98-29977 Filed 11-6-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F