[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 27, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81848-81850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-32989]


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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 Cambodia

December 20, 2000.
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, 2001.

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 20, 2000, the Governments of 
the United States and Cambodia agreed to amend the existing visa 
arrangement for cotton, wool and man-made fiber textile products in 
Categories 200-239, 300-369, 400-469, 600-670, 800-899, produced or 
manufactured in Cambodia and exported on and after January 1, 2001. The 
amended arrangement consolidates existing provisions and new provisions 
for the Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS). The Governments of 
the United States and Cambodia will implement a 6-month test phase in 
which, in addition to the

[[Page 81849]]

ELVIS requirements, shipments will continue to be accompanied by a 
visa. This notice supersedes the notice and letter to the Commissioner 
of Customs published in the Federal Register on December 18, 1998 (63 
FR 70110).
    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 64 FR 71982, published on December 22, 
1999). Information regarding the 2001 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 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consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will meet the 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.

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

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

December 20, 2000.
Commissioner of Customs,
Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.

    Dear Commissioner: This directive supersedes the directive 
issued to you on December 14, 1998 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 Export Visa Arrangement, effected by exchange of 
notes dated December 20, 2000, between the Governments of the United 
States and Cambodia; 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, 2001, 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, 800-899, 
including part categories and merged categories, produced or 
manufactured in Cambodia and exported on and after January 1, 2001 
for which the Government of Cambodia 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 Cambodia is ``KH''), and a six 
digit serial number identifying the shipment; e.g., 1KH123456.
    2. The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day, 
month and year on which the visa was issued.
    3. The printed name and original signature of the issuing 
official authorized by the Government of Cambodia.
    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 the U.S. Department of 
Commerce Correlation, and in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States, Annotated or successor documents and listed in Annex 
B to this Arrangement 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 340/640 may be visaed as ``Category 340/
640'' or if the shipment consists solely of Category 340 
merchandise, the shipment may be visaed as ``Category 340,'' but not 
as ``Category 640''). If, however, a merged quota category such as 
340/640 has a quota sublimit on Category 340, then there must be a 
``Category 340`` visa for the shipment if it includes Category 340 
merchandise.
    U.S. Customs shall not permit entry if the shipment does not 
have a visa, or if the visa number, date of issuance, printed name 
of the signer, 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 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.
    The categories, quantities and date of export shall be those 
determined by the U.S. Customs Service and those listed in Annex B 
of this Arrangement. The U.S. Customs Service classifies all imports 
into the Customs territory of the United States in compliance with 
U.S. laws and regulations.
    If the visa is not acceptable then a new correct visa must be 
obtained from the Government of Cambodia or a visa waiver may be 
issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce at the request of the 
Cambodian Embassy for the Government of Cambodia 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 with 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 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 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 Cambodia, upon request, information on the amounts and 
categories involved for all items subject to quota administered by 
the U.S. Customs Service.

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 and listed in Annex 
B to this Arrangement.
    iv. The quantity of the shipment in the correct units of 
quantity
    v. The manufacturer ID number (MID). The MID shall begin with 
``KH'' 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 Cambodia;
    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

[[Page 81850]]

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 Cambodia 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 Cambodia 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 Cambodia 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

Other Provisions

    The date of export is the actual date the merchandise finally 
leaves the country of origin. For merchandise exported by carrier, 
this is the day on which the carrier last departs the country of 
origin.
    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, if applicable.
    The Government of Cambodia shall provide the Government of the 
United States with three original, clear, reproducible copies of the 
visa stamp which shall be the stamp designated for use throughout 
the entire period the visa arrangements in effect, and three 
originals of the signatures of the officials authorized to sign 
visas. The stamp, and any subsequent changes thereto, must be 
approved by the Government of the United States. The Government of 
Cambodia shall notify the Government of the United States at least 
forty-five days prior to a change in the officials authorized to 
sign the visa.
    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 Cambodia 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 within 60 
days unless either side presents objections.
    Either Government may terminate, in whole or in part, this 
administrative arrangement by giving ninety days written notice to 
the other.
    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,
Richard B. Steinkamp,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. 00-32989 Filed 12-26-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F