[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 213 (Tuesday, November 4, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62432-62434]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-27642]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Notice of Solicitation of Comments on Modification of Worsted 
Wool Fabric Tariff Rate Quotas

AGENCY: Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration.

ACTION: Notice of solicitation of comments on a request for 
modification of tariff rate quota limitations on the import of certain 
worsted wool fabrics.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DATES: To be considered, comments must be received or postmarked by 
5:00 p.m., November 24, 2003.

ADDRESS: Comments must be submitted to: Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Textiles, Apparel and Consumer Goods Industries, Room 3001, United 
States Department of Commerce. Washington, D.C. 20230. Six copies of 
comments should be submitted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sergio Botero, Office of Textiles and 
Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 482-4058.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Commerce (Department) 
hereby solicits comments on a request for an increase in the 
limitations on the quantity of imports of certain worsted wool fabric 
under the 2004 tariff rate quotas established by the Trade and 
Development Act of 2000 (TDA 2000), and amended by the Trade Act of 
2002. To be considered, comments must be received or postmarked by 5:00 
p.m. November 24, 2003 and must comply with the requirements of 15 CFR 
340 (66 FR 6459, published January 22, 2001). Thirty days after the end 
of the comment period, the Department will determine whether the 
limitations should be modified.

Background

    Title V of the TDA 2000 created two tariff rate quotas (TRQs), 
providing for temporary reductions for three years in the import duties 
on limited quantities of two categories of worsted wool fabrics 
suitable for use in making suits, suit-type jackets, or trousers: (1) 
for worsted wool fabric with average fiber diameters greater than 18.5 
microns (Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the

[[Page 62433]]

United States (HTS) heading 9902.51.11); and (2) for worsted wool 
fabric with average fiber diameters of 18.5 microns or less (HTS 
heading 9902.51.12).
    On August 6, 2002, President Bush signed into law the Trade Act of 
2002, which includes several amendments to Title V of the TDA 2000. 
These include the extension of the program through 2005; the reduction 
of the in-quota duty rate on HTS 9902.51.12 (average fiber diameter 
18.5 microns or less) from 6 percent to zero, effective for goods 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 
January 1, 2002; and an increase in the 2003 through 2005 TRQ levels to 
3,500,000 square meters for HTS 9902.51.12 and to 4,500,000 square 
meters for HTS 9902.51.11. Both of these limitations may be modified by 
the President, not to exceed 1,000,000 square meters per year for each 
tariff rate quota.
    The TDA 2000 requires the annual consideration of requests by U.S. 
manufacturers of men's or boys' worsted wool suits, suit-type jackets 
and trousers for modification of the limitation on the quantity of 
fabric that may be imported under the tariff rate quotas, and grants 
the President the authority to proclaim modifications to the 
limitations. In determining whether to modify the limitations, 
specified U.S. market conditions with respect to worsted wool fabric 
and worsted wool apparel must be considered. On January 22, 2001, the 
Department published regulations establishing procedures for 
considering requests for modification of the limitations. 15 CFR 340.
    On September 26, 2003, the Department published a notice in the 
Federal Register soliciting requests for modification of the 2004 
tariff rate quota limitations. The Department received one such 
request, from Hartmarx Corporation. The request is for the maximum 
increase (1,000,000 square meters) in each of the two tariff rate quota 
limitations (HTS 9902.51.11 and HTS 9902.51.12). The request is 
reproduced below.
    Comments may be submitted by any interested person, including U.S. 
manufacturers of worsted wool fabric, wool yarn, wool top and wool 
fiber. Comments must comply with the requirements of 15 CFR 340. If the 
person submitting comments is a domestic producer of worsted wool 
fabric, comments should include, to the extent available, the following 
information for each limitation with respect to which comments are 
being made: (1) A list of domestic manufacturers of worsted wool suits, 
suit-type jackets, or trousers for whom orders were filled during the 
period July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003, the date of such orders, the 
total quantity ordered and supplied in square meters of domestically 
produced worsted wool fabric and of imported worsted wool fabric, and 
the average price received per square meter of domestically produced 
worsted wool fabric and of imported worsted wool fabric for such 
orders; 2) A list of all requests to purchase worsted wool fabric 
during the period July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003 that were rejected by 
the person submitting the comments, indicating the dates of the 
requests, the quantity requested, the price quoted, and the reasons why 
the request was rejected; 3) Data indicating the increase or decrease 
in production and sales for the period January 1, 2003 to June 30, 2003 
and the comparable six month period in the previous year of 
domestically-produced worsted wool fabrics used in the production of 
worsted wool suits, suit-type jackets and trousers; 4) Evidence of lost 
sales due to the temporary duty reductions on certain worsted wool 
fabric under the tariff rate quotas; and 5) Other evidence of the 
ability of domestic producers of worsted wool fabric to meet the needs 
of the manufacturers of worsted wool suits, suit-type jackets and 
trousers in terms of quantity, variety, and other relevant factors.
    Comments must be accompanied by a statement by the person 
submitting the request (if a natural person), or an employee, officer 
or agent of the legal entity submitting the request, with personal 
knowledge of the matters set forth therein, certifying that the 
information is complete and accurate, signed and sworn before a Notary 
Public, and acknowledging that false representations to a federal 
agency may result in criminal penalties under federal law. Any business 
confidential information provided that is marked business confidential 
will be kept confidential and protected from disclosure to the full 
extent permitted by law. To the extent business confidential 
information is provided, a non-confidential submission should also be 
provided, in which business confidential information is summarized or, 
if necessary, deleted.

    Dated: October 29, 2003.
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles, Apparel and Consumer 
Goods Industries
October 14, 2003
Industry Assessment Division
Office of Textiles and Apparel
Room 3100
United States Department of Commerce
Washington, DC 20230

RE: Request for Modification of Tariff Rate Quotas on the Import of 
Certain Worsted Wool Fabrics

    To Whom It May Concern: As President and Chief Executive Officer 
of Hartmarx Corporation and on behalf of Hartmarx Corporation and 
its wholly-owned subsidiaries (``the Companies''), manufacturers of 
men's and boys' worsted wool suits, suit-type jackets and trousers 
\1\, I am submitting this request in response to the Department of 
Commerce's ``Notice of Solicitation of Requests for Modification of 
Tariff Rate Quotas on the Import of Certain Worsted Wool Fabrics''. 
This modification request is consistent with the procedures 
established for considering requests for modifications of the tariff 
rate quotas under Title V or the Trade and Development Act of 2000 
(the Act) and the regulations published by the Department.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ As required by 15 CFR 340.3(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Hartmarx Corporation has its principal executive and 
administrative offices in Chicago, Illinois. The Companies have 
manufacturing facilities in Alabama, New York, Missouri, Illinois, 
Pennsylvania and Arkansas. The Company was established in 1872, and 
we believe we are the largest manufacturer and marketer of men's 
suits, sport coats, and slacks in the United States. Substantially 
all of the company's products are sold to a wide variety of retail 
channels under established brand names or the private labels of 
major retailers. For example, the Company owns the Hart Schaffner & 
Marx and Hickey-Freeman labels and also offers its products under a 
variety of brand names it owns or under exclusive licensing 
agreements.
    As domestic manufacturers of men's and boys' worsted wool suits, 
suit-type jackets and trousers, the Companies are eligible to 
request a modification of the limitation on the quantity of imported 
worsted wool fabrics under headings 9902.51.11 and 9902.51.12 of the 
harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS). This request 
seeks an increase in the limitations for imports entering on or 
after January 1, 2004 of 1 million square meters for HTS heading 
9902.51.11 and an in crease of 1 million square meters for HTS 
heading 9902.51.12 \2\.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ As required by 15 CFR 340.3(b)(3).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For the twelve months July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003, our 
companies imported a substantial quantity of worsted wool fabric 
despite the difficult economic conditions in the men's tailored 
clothing business. As conditions in the men's tailored clothing 
business improve, the companies, along with other companies in the 
industry, would expect to import more worsted wool fabric to meet 
the anticipated demand from our customers. This is especially true 
given the quantity of fabric imports of other domestic manufacturers 
of men's and boys' worsted wool tailored clothing who are seeking 
allocations of the tariff rate quota. In addition, domestic fabric 
production has experienced significant and rapid declines in the 
last few years. The following information is summarized form the 
Hartmarx Form 10-

[[Page 62434]]

K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 1993 
to 2002 shows that during that period the Companies purchased a 
reduced amount of all our fabric needs (not just worsted wool) from 
Burlington Industries, and imported significantly more fabric.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Percent of fabric
                                                  needs
                                        -----------------------
     Fiscal year ended November 30        Purchases
                                             from
                                          Burlington   Imports
                                          Industries
---------------------------------------------------------------
2002...................................            8         65
2001...................................           11         55
2000...................................           20         40
1999...................................           25         33
1998...................................           33         30
1997...................................           40         22
1996...................................           43         19
1995...................................           46         17
1994...................................           51         20
1993...................................           48         25
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Purchases from Burlington Industries for the period July 1, 2002 
to June 30, 2003 were not significant. Whereas in prior periods the 
companies purchased over one million square meters from Burlington.
    Today, the Companies rely on mills in more than 15 countries to 
supply worsted wool fabric. Therefore, we know that unless the 
limitations are significantly increased, we will be unable to 
receive adequate TRQ allocations to satisfy our needs.
    Hickey-Freeman only uses fabric described in HTS heading 
9902.51.12. Because of the nature of the fabric used by Hickey-
Freeman, Burlington has not been a significant worsted wool fabric 
supplier to Hickey-Freeman for many years. This situation stands in 
stark contrast to that of decades ago when Burlington was such a 
large fabric supplier that Hickey-Freeman purchased business 
interruption insurance to insure against financial losses should 
Burlington's mills be unable to fulfill Hickey-Freeman's fabric 
orders. Hickey-Freeman has been a significant customer of Loro Piana 
USA (Warren of Stafford), but has reduced its purchases over the 
last few years because that mill has been unable to satisfy our 
fabric needs at the same level as it had previously. In 2000, Loro 
Piana USA (Warren of Stafford) supplied approximately 30 percent of 
Hickey-Freeman's total fabric purchases. Today, Hickey-Freeman 
relies on mills in 6 countries to supply worsted wool fabric.
    In the period January 1, 2003 to June 30, 2003 compared to 
January 1, 2002 to June 30, 2002, our business changed significantly 
in that we produced significantly more garments using worsted wool 
fabrics finer than 18.5 microns and fewer garments using worsted 
wool fabric greater than 18.5 microns.
    We are attaching, as part of this modification request, business 
confidential production and other data required under the 
regulations and request that it be protected from disclosure. This 
data is separately attached and is labeled ``Business 
Confidential.''
    This letter and the attached Business Confidential data provides 
the basis for our requested modification.
    As an officer of the company submitting this request, I have 
personal knowledge of the matters set forth herein, and I certify 
that the information is complete and accurate. I acknowledge that 
false representations to a federal agency may result in criminal 
penalties under federal law.

Homi B. Patel,

President and Chief Executive Officer, Hartmarx Corporation.
[FR Doc. 03-27642 Filed 11-3-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-S/M