[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 236 (Tuesday, December 9, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68597-68598]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E3-00486]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Announcement of Import Limits for Certain Wool Textile Products 
Produced or Manufactured in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

December 3, 2003.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner, Bureau of Customs and 
Border Protection establishing limits.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2004.

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 Bureau of 
Customs and Border Protection Web site at http://www.customs.gov. For 
information on embargoes and quota re-openings, refer to the Office of 
Textiles and Apparel Web site at http://www.otexa.ita.doc.gov.

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 the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and exported 
during the period January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2004 are based 
on limits notified to the Textiles Monitoring Body pursuant to the 
Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC).

[[Page 68598]]

    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 69743), shall be denied entry. However, the Government of Macedonia 
may authorize the entry and charges to the appropriate specific limits 
by the issuance of a valid visa. Also see 63 FR 17156, published on 
April 8, 1998.
    In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the 
Commissioner, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to establish the 
2004 limits.
    These limits are subject to adjustment pursuant to the provisions 
of the ATC and administrative arrangements notified to the Textiles 
Monitoring Body. However, as the ATC and all restrictions thereunder 
will terminate on January 1, 2005, no adjustment for carryforward 
(borrowing from next year's limits for use in the current year) will be 
available.
    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 68 FR 1599, published on January 13, 2004). Information 
regarding the 2004 CORRELATION will be published in the Federal 
Register at a later date.

James C. Leonard III,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

December 3, 2003.

Commissioner,
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, 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, 2004, entry into the United States for consumption and 
withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of wool textile products 
in the following categories, produced or manufactured in the Former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and exported during the twelve-month 
period beginning on January 1, 2004 and extending through December 
31, 2004, in excess of the following levels of restraint:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Category                        Twelve-month limit
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433.......................................  23,414 dozen.
434.......................................  11,707 dozen.
435.......................................  31,955 dozen.
443.......................................  196,914 numbers.
448.......................................  70,241 dozen.
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    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.
    Products in the above categories exported during 2003 shall be 
charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see 
directive dated October 9, 2002) 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 69743), shall be denied 
entry. However, the Government of Macedonia may authorize the entry 
and charges to the appropriate specific limits by the issuance of a 
valid visa. Also see directive dated April 2, 1998, (63 FR 17156). 
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, Bureau 
of Customs and Border Protection 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,
James C. Leonard III,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. E3-00486 Filed 12-8-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-S