[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 243 (Monday, December 20, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71120-71122]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32796]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Consolidation and Amendment of Export Visa Requirements to 
Include the Electronic Visa Information System for Certain Cotton, 
Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and 
Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Sri Lanka

December 14, 1999.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs 
consolidating and amending visa requirements.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roy Unger, International Trade 
Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, (202) 482-3400.

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.

    In exchange of notes dated December 10, 1999, the Governments of 
the United States and Sri Lanka agreed to amend the existing visa 
arrangement for 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, 831-859, produced or manufactured in Sri 
Lanka and exported on and after January 1, 2000. The amended 
arrangement consolidates existing provisions and new provisions for the 
Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS). The Governments of the 
United States and Sri Lanka will implement a 6-month test phase in 
which, in addition to the ELVIS requirements, shipments will continue 
to be accompanied by a visa. This notice supersedes the notice and 
letter to the Commissioner of Customs, as amended, published in the 
Federal Register on September 7, 1988 (53 FR 34573).
    A description of the textile and apparel categories in terms of 
Categories with the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(see Federal Register notice 63 FR 71096, published on December 23, 
1998). Information regarding the 2000 CORRELATION will be published in 
the Federal Register at a later date.
    Goods integrated into GATT 1994 in Stage II by the United States 
will not require a visa or ELVIS transmission (see Federal Register 
notice 63 FR 53881, published on October 7, 1998).
    Interested persons are advised to take all necessary steps to 
ensure that textile products 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, 1999.

Commissioner of Customs,
Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.

    Dear Commissioner: This directive supersedes the directive 
issued to you on September 1, 1988 by the Chairman, Committee for 
the Implementation of Textile Agreements. Under the terms of section 
204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); and 
pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing and 
the Export Visa Arrangement, effected by exchange of notes dated 
December 10, 1999, between the Governments of the United States and 
Sri Lanka; and in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order 
11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, you are directed to prohibit, 
effective on January 1, 2000, 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, 831-859, including 
part categories and merged categories, produced or manufactured in 
Sri Lanka and exported on and after January 1, 2000 for which the 
Government of Sri Lanka has not issued an appropriate export visa 
and Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS) transmission fully 
described below. Should additional categories, part-categories or 
merged categories become subject to import quotas, the entire 
category(s), part-category(s) or merged category(s) shall be 
included in the coverage of this arrangement.
    A visa must accompany each shipment of the aforementioned 
textile products. A circular stamped marking in blue ink will appear 
on the front of the original invoice. 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.
Visa Requirements
    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 Sri Lanka is ``LK''), and a six 
digit serial number identifying the shipment; e.g., 0LK123456.
    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 Government of Sri Lanka.
    4. The correct category(s), part category(s), merged 
category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity in the shipment in 
the unit(s) of quantity provided for in Annex A of the Export Visa 
Arrangement, in the U.S. Department of Commerce Correlation, and in 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated, or 
successor document and 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. (For 
example, quota Category 347/348 may be visaed as ``Cat. ``347/348'' 
or if the shipment consists solely of Category 347 merchandise, the 
shipment

[[Page 71121]]

may be visaed as ``Cat. 347,'' but not as ``Cat. 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 categories and units of measure shall be those listed in 
Annex A of the Export Visa Arrangement and as determined by the U.S. 
Customs Service.
    If the visa is not acceptable then a new correct visa must be 
obtained from the Government of Sri Lanka or a visa waiver may be 
issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce at the request of the 
Government of Sri Lanka and presented to the U.S. Customs Service 
before any portion of the shipment will be released. The waiver, if 
used, only waives the requirement to present a visa with the 
shipment. It does not waive any quota requirement. 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 
the importer a certified copy of that visaed invoice for use in 
obtaining a new correct visaed invoice or a visa waiver.
    Only the actual quantity in the shipment and the correct 
category will be charged to the applicable restraint level.
    If a shipment from Sri Lanka has been allowed entry into the 
commerce of the United States with either an incorrect visa or no 
visa and redelivery is requested but is not made, the shipment will 
be charged to the correct category limit whether or not a 
replacement visa or visa waiver is provided.
    The Government of the United States will make available to the 
Government of Sri Lanka, upon request, information on the amounts 
and categories involved for all items subject to quota administered 
by the U.S. Customs Service.
    The complete name and address of a company performing the major 
production steps in the manufacturing process of the textile 
products covered by the visa shall be provided on the textile visa 
document.
ELVIS Requirements
    A. Each ELVIS message will include the following information:
    i. The visa number as defined above.
    ii. The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day, 
month and year on which the visa was issued.
    iii. The correct category(s), part category(s), merged 
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.
    iv. The quantity of the shipment in the correct units of 
quantity
    v. The manufacturer ID number (MID). The MID shall begin with 
``LK,'' followed by the first three characters from each of the 
first two words of the name of the manufacturer, followed by the 
largest number on the address line up to the first four digits, 
followed by three letters from the city name.
    B. Entry of a shipment shall not be permitted:
    i. if an ELVIS transmission has not been received for the 
shipment from Sri Lanka;
    ii. if the ELVIS transmission for that shipment is missing any 
of the following:
    a. visa number
    b. category or part category
    c. quantity
    d. unit of measure
    e. date of issuance
    f. manufacturer ID number;
    iii. if the ELVIS transmission for the shipment does not match 
the information supplied by the importer with regard to any of the 
following:
    a. visa number
    b. category or part category
    c. unit of measure;
    iv. if the quantity being entered is greater than the quantity 
transmitted;
    v. if the visa number has previously been used, except in the 
case of a split shipment, or canceled, except when an entry has 
already been made using the visa number.
    C. A new, correct ELVIS transmission from Sri Lanka is required 
before a shipment that has been denied entry for one of the 
circumstances described above will be released.
    D. Notwithstanding the previous paragraph, a visa waiver may be 
accepted, at the discretion of the U.S. Department of Commerce, in 
lieu of an ELVIS transmission, if the shipment qualifies as a one-
time special purpose shipment that is not part of an ongoing 
commercial enterprise.
    E. Shipments will not be released for forty-eight hours in the 
event of a system failure. If system failure exceeds forty-eight 
hours, for the remaining period of the system failure, the U.S. 
Customs Service will release shipments on the basis of the paper 
visaed document.
    F. If a shipment from Sri Lanka is allowed entry into the 
commerce of the United States with an incorrect visa, no visa, an 
incorrect ELVIS transmission, or no ELVIS transmission, and 
redelivery is requested but is not made, the shipment will be 
charged to the correct category limit whether or not a replacement 
visa or waiver is provided or a new ELVIS message is transmitted.
    G. The U.S. Customs will provide the Government of Sri Lanka 
with a report on visa utilization which is accessible at any time. 
This report will contain:
    a. visa number
    b. category number
    c. unit of measure
    d. quantity charged to quota
    e. entry number
    f. entry line number
Shipments not Requiring visas or ELVIS Transmissions
    Merchandise imported for the personal use of the importer and 
not for resale, regardless of value, and properly marked commercial 
sample shipments valued $800 or less do not require a visa or an 
ELVIS transmission for entry and shall not be charged to Agreement 
levels.
Other provisions
    Except as provided for above, any shipment which is not 
accompanied by a valid and correct visa and ELVIS transmission shall 
be denied entry by the Government of the United States unless the 
Government of Sri Lanka authorizes the entry and any charges to the 
agreement levels.
    After a six-month test phase is completed, both governments will 
conduct a joint assessment and make recommendations regarding the 
elimination of the visa stamp on the commercial invoice.
    Effective on January 1, 2000, neither a visa nor an ELVIS 
transmission will 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 and ELVIS transmission will continue to be required for non-
integrated products.
    The visa stamp remains unchanged.
    The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has 
determined that this action falls within the foreign affairs 
exception to the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).
    Sincerely,
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Merged and Part Categories


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                                            Designation in        Conversion Factor to
           Merged Category                    Agreement                   SME                      Unit
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331 and 631                            331/631                  2.90                     dozen pairs
333 and 633                            333/633                  30.30                    dozen
334 and 634                            334/634                  34.50                    dozen
335 and 835                            335/835                  34.50                    dozen
336, 636 and 836                       336/636/836              37.90                    dozen
338 and 339                            338/339                  6.00                     dozen
340 and 640                            340/640                  20.10                    dozen
341 and 641                            341/641                  12.10                    dozen
342, 642 and 842                       342/642/842              14.90                    dozen

[[Page 71122]]

 
345 and 845                            345/845                  30.80                    dozen
347, 348 and 847                       347/348/847              14.90                    dozen
350 and 650                            350/650                  42.60                    dozen
351 and 651                            351/651                  43.50                    dozen
352 and 652                            352/652                  11.30                    dozen
359-C and 659-C                        359-C/659-C              10.10                    kilograms
638, 639 and 838                       638/639/838              13.00                    dozen
645 and 646                            645/646                  30.80                    dozen
647 and 648                            647/648                  14.90                    dozen
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         Part Category                         Description
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359-C                           Cotton Coveralls and Overalls
359-O                           Other Cotton Apparel
369-D                           Cotton Dishtowels
369-O                           Other Cotton Manufactures
369-S                           Cotton Shop Towels
659-C                           Man-Made Fiber Overalls and Coveralls
659-O                           Other Man-Made Fiber Apparel
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[FR Doc. 99-32796 Filed 12-17-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F