[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 237 (Thursday, December 10, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68247-68248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32797]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


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

December 4, 1998.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).


[[Page 68248]]


ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing 
limits.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1999.

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, 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 for textile products, produced or 
manufactured in India 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).
    Effective on January 1, 1999, a visa will no longer be required for 
products integrated in the second stage of the integration of textiles 
and clothing into GATT 1994 from WTO member countries (see 63 FR 53881, 
published on October 7, 1998). A visa will continue to be required for 
non-integrated products. For quota purposes only, products remaining in 
categories partially integrated will continue to be designated by the 
designator ``pt.''
    In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the 
Commissioner of Customs to establish the 1999 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 62 FR 66057, published on December 17, 1997. 
Information regarding the 1999 CORRELATION will be published in the 
Federal Register at a later date.
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
December 4, 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, man-made fiber, 
silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products 
in the following categories, produced or manufactured in India 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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Levels in Group I
218.......................................  15,759,634 square meters.
219.......................................  72,024,490 square meters.
313.......................................  42,166,947 square meters.
314.......................................  8,574,344 square meters.
315.......................................  14,401,463 square meters.
317.......................................  42,323,197 square meters.
326.......................................  9,618,909 square meters.
334/634...................................  153,260 dozen.
335/635...................................  682,313 dozen.
336/636...................................  962,758 dozen.
338/339...................................  4,168,194 dozen.
340/640...................................  2,140,156 dozen.
341.......................................  4,473,861 dozen of which not
                                             more than 2,684,315 dozen
                                             shall be in Category 341-Y
                                             \1\.
342/642...................................  1,381,686 dozen.
345.......................................  210,686 dozen.
347/348...................................  677,845 dozen.
351/651...................................  292,062 dozen.
363.......................................  49,249,693 numbers.
369-D \2\.................................  1,429,609 kilograms.
369-S \3\.................................  779,787 kilograms.
641.......................................  1,608,636 dozen.
647/648...................................  934,120 dozen.
Group II
200, 201, 220-227, 237, 239pt. \4\, 300,    123,462,255 square meters
 301, 331-333, 350, 352, 359pt. \5\, 360-    equivalent.
 362, 600-604, 606 \6\, 607, 611-629, 631,
 633, 638, 639, 643-646, 649, 650, 652,
 659pt. \7\, 666, 669pt. \8\, 670, 831,
 833-838, 840-858 and 859pt. \9\, as a
 group.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Category 341-Y: only HTS numbers 6204.22.3060, 6206.30.3010,
  6206.30.3030 and 6211.42.0054.
\2\ Category 369-D: only HTS numbers 6302.60.0010, 6302.91.0005 and
  6302.91.0045.
\3\ Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.
\4\ Category 239pt.: only HTS number 6209.20.5040 (diapers).
\5\ Category 359pt.: all HTS numbers except 6406.99.1550.
\6\ Category 606: all HTS numbers except 5403.31.0040 (for
  administrative purposes Category 606 is designated as 606(1)).
\7\ Category 659pt.: all HTS numbers except 6406.99.1510 and
  6406.99.1540.
\8\ Category 669pt.: all HTS numbers except 5601.10.2000, 5601.22.0090,
  5607.49.3000, 5607.50.4000 and 6406.10.9040.
\9\ Category 859pt.: only HTS numbers 6115.19.8040, 6117.10.6020,
  6212.10.5030, 6212.10.9040, 6212.20.0030, 6212.30.0030, 6212.90.0090,
  6214.10.2000 and 6214.90.0090.

    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 December 22, 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.
    Effective on January 1, 1999, a visa will no longer be required 
for products integrated in the second stage of the integration of 
textiles and clothing into GATT 1994 from WTO member countries (see 
directive dated September 30, 1998). A visa will continue to be 
required for non-integrated products. For quota purposes only, 
products remaining in categories partially integrated will continue 
to be designated by the designator ``pt.''
    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,
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.
[FR Doc. 98-32797 Filed 12-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F