[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 95 (Tuesday, May 18, 1999)] [Notices] [Pages 26945-26946] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 99-12509] [[Page 26945]] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS Establishment of an Export Visa Arrangement for Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Fiji May 11, 1999. AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA). ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing export visa requirements. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- EFFECTIVE DATE: June 1, 1999. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross Arnold, 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 3, 1999 and April 26, 1999, the Governments of the United States and the Republic of the Fiji Islands agreed to establish an Export Visa Arrangement for cotton and man-made fiber textile products subject to import control. That is, products in merged-Categories 338/339/638/639 will be visaed as either part-Categories 338-S/339-S/638-S/639-S or part-Categories 338-O/339-O/ 638-O/639-O, produced or manufactured in Fiji and exported from Fiji on and after June 1, 1999. Products exported during the period June 1, 1999 through June 30, 1999 shall not be denied entry for lack of a visa. All products exported on and after July 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 63 FR 71096, published on December 23, 1998). 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to take all necessary steps to ensure that textile products that are entered into the United States for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will meet the visa requirements set forth in the letter published below to the Commissioner of Customs.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 May 11, 1999. 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) and Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended; the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) and the Export Visa Arrangement, effected by exchange of notes dated March 3, 1999 and April 26, 1999 between the Governments of the United States and the Republic of the Fiji Islands, you are directed to prohibit, effective on June 1, 1999, entry into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton and man-made fiber textile products in part-Categories 338-S/339-S/638-S/639-S and part- Categories 338-O/339-O/638-O/639-O, produced or manufactured in Fiji and exported from Fiji on and after June 1, 1999 for which the Government of the Republic of the Fiji Islands has not issued an appropriate export visa fully described below. Should whole categories, merged categories or part categories become subject to import quota, the whole, merged or part category(s) automatically shall be included in the coverage of this arrangement. Merchandise in the whole, merged or part category(s) exported on or after the date the whole, 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 June 1, 1999 through June 30, 1999 shall not be denied entry for lack of an export visa. All products exported on and after July 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 for the shipment to enter 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 Fiji is ``FJ''), and a six digit numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g., 9FJ123456. 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 authorized by the Fiji Islands Customs Service for the Government of the Republic of the Fiji Islands. 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 shall be reported in the spaces provided within the visa stamp (e.g., ``Cat. 338-S/339-S/ 638-S/639-S--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. For example, quota Category 338-O/339-O/638-O/639-O may be visaed as Category 338-O/339-O/638-O/639-O or if the shipment consists solely of Category 338-O merchandise, the shipment may be visaed as ``Category 338-O'' but not as ``Category 339-O.'' If, however, a merged quota category such as Category 338/339/638/639 has a quota sublimit on Category 338-S/339-S/638-S/639-S, then there must be a ``Category 338-S/339-S/638-S/639-S'' visa for the shipment if it includes Category 338-S/339-S/638-S/639-S 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, 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 country office in Washington, DC, for the Government of the Republic of the Fiji Islands. 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 Fiji 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 [[Page 26946]] 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 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN18MY99.029 Export Visa Stamp for the Republic of Fiji [FR Doc. 99-12509 Filed 5-17-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-DR-C