[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 243 (Friday, December 18, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70110-70112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33504]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Establishment of an Export Visa Arrangement for Certain Cotton, 
Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and 
Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Cambodia

December 14, 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: January 1, 1999.

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.

    Pursuant to exchange of notes dated March 11 and August 8, 1997, 
the Governments of the United States and Cambodia 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 in 
Categories 200-239, 300-369, 400-469, 600-670 and 800-899, produced or 
manufactured in Cambodia and exported from Cambodia on and after 
January 1, 1999. Products exported during the period January 1, 1999 
through January 31, 1999 shall not be denied entry for lack of a visa. 
All

[[Page 70111]]

products exported on and after February 1, 1999 must be accompanied by 
an appropriate export visa.
    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.
    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for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will meet 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
December 14, 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 Export Visa Arrangement, effected 
by exchange of notes dated March 11 and August 8, 1997, between the 
Governments of the United States and Cambodia, you are directed to 
prohibit, effective on January 1, 1999, 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, produced or manufactured in Cambodia and exported from Cambodia 
on and after January 1, 1999 for which the Government of Cambodia 
has not issued an appropriate export visa fully described below. 
Should additional categories, 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 visa 
arrangement. Merchandise in the category(s) exported on or after the 
date the category(s) becomes subject to import quotas shall require 
a visa. Products exported during the period January 1, 1999 through 
January 31, 1999 shall not be denied entry for lack of an export 
visa. All products exported on and after February 1, 1999 must be 
accompanied by an appropriate 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 code specified by the International Organization for 
Standardization (ISO) (the code for the Cambodia is ``KH''), and a 
six digit numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g., 
9KH123456.
    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 and the printed name of the issuing 
official authorized by the Government of Cambodia.
    4. The correct category(s), merged category(s), part 
category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity of the shipment in 
the unit(s) of quantity provided for 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. Visaed quantities are rounded to the 
closest whole number if the quantity exported exceeds one whole 
unit, but is less than the next whole unit. Half units are rounded 
up. If the quantity visaed is less than one unit, the shipment is 
rounded upwards to one unit. Merged category quota merchandise may 
be accompanied by either the appropriate merged category visa or the 
correct category visa corresponding to the actual shipment. For 
example, 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.
    The complete name and address of a company(s) 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 
Government of Cambodia through its Embassy in Washington, DC. The 
waiver, if used, only waives the requirement to present a visa with 
the shipment. It does not waive the quota requirements. 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, 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 Cambodia 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. $800 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.

BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F

[[Page 70112]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN18DE98.000



Export Visa Stamp for Cambodia

[FR Doc. 98-33504 Filed 12-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-C