[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 239 (Tuesday, December 12, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 77594]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-31610]



[[Page 77594]]

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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


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

December 5, 2000.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

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

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2001.

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.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 Romania and exported during the period January 1, 2001 
through December 31, 2001 are based on the limits notified to the 
Textiles Monitoring Body pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreement on 
Textiles and Clothing (ATC).
    These limits do not apply to goods entered under the Outward 
Processing Program, as defined in the notice and letter to the 
Commissioner of Customs published in the Federal Register on December 
14, 1999 (see 64 FR 69746).
    Any shipment for entry under the Outward Processing Program which 
is not accompanied by valid certification in accordance with the 
provisions established in the notice and letter to the Commissioner of 
Customs, published in the Federal Register on December 14, 1999 (see 64 
FR 69744), shall be denied entry. However, the Government of Romania 
may authorize the entry and charges to the appropriate specific limits 
by the issuance of a valid visa. Also see 49 FR 493, as amended, 
published on January 4, 1984.
    In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the 
Commissioner of Customs to establish the 2001 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 64 FR 71982, published on December 22, 1999). 
Information regarding the 2001 CORRELATION will be published in the 
Federal Register at a later date.

Richard B. Steinkamp,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

December 5, 2000.

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, 2001, entry into the United States 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 the following categories, produced or manufactured in 
Romania and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on 
January 1, 2001 and extending through December 31, 2001, in excess 
of the following levels of restraint:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Category                        Twelve-month limit
------------------------------------------------------------------------
313.......................................  2,586,806 square meters.
314.......................................  1,940,104 square meters.
315.......................................  4,668,865 square meters.
333/833...................................  184,913 dozen.
334.......................................  446,955 dozen.
335/835...................................  234,225 dozen.
338/339...................................  1,010,862 dozen.
340.......................................  441,235 dozen.
341/840...................................  184,912 dozen.
347/348...................................  788,967 dozen.
350.......................................  41,766 dozen.
352.......................................  281,254 dozen.
359pt. \1\................................  1,008,847 kilograms.
360.......................................  2,607,141 numbers.
361.......................................  1,738,095 numbers.
369pt. \2\................................  457,545 kilograms.
410.......................................  180,325 square meters.
433/434...................................  9,988 dozen.
435.......................................  10,447 dozen.
442.......................................  12,099 dozen.
443.......................................  93,338 numbers.
444.......................................  44,001 numbers.
447/448...................................  24,266 dozen.
604.......................................  1,721,378 kilograms.
638/639...................................  966,899 dozen.
640.......................................  132,982 dozen.
647/648...................................  229,551 dozen.
666.......................................  192,789 kilograms.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Category 359pt.: all HTS numbers except 6406.99.1550.
\2\ Category 369pt.: all HTS numbers except 5601.10.1000, 5601.21.0090,
  5701.90.1020, 5701.90.2020, 5702.10.9020, 5702.39.2010, 5702.49.1020,
  5702.49.1080, 5702.59.1000, 5702.99.1010, 5702.99.1090, 5705.00.2020
  and 6406.10.7700.

    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. These limits do not apply to 
products exported under the Outward Processing Program.
    Products in the above categories exported during 2000 shall be 
charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see 
directive dated December 14, 1999) 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.
    These limits do not apply to goods entered under the Outward 
Processing Program, as defined in the letter to the Commissioner of 
Customs, dated December 8, 1999 (see 64 FR 69746).
    Any shipment for entry under the Outward Processing Program 
which is not accompanied by a valid certification in accordance with 
the provisions established in the letter to the Commissioner of 
Customs, dated December 9, 1999 (see 64 FR 69744), shall be denied 
entry. However, the Government of Romania may authorize the entry 
and charges to the appropriate specific limits by the issuance of a 
valid visa. Also see directive dated December 29, 1983, as amended, 
(49 FR 493). Any shipment which is declared for entry under the 
Outward Processing 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 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).

    Sincerely,
Richard B. Steinkamp,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

[FR Doc. 00-31610 Filed 12-11-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F