[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 236 (Tuesday, December 9, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68598-68599]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E3-00487]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton and 
Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Nepal

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: Roy Unger, 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://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 Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected by exchange of notes 
dated May 30 and June 1, 1986, as amended and extended, and Memorandum 
of Understanding (MOU) dated July 13, 2000 between the Governments of 
the United States and Nepal establish limits for the period January 1, 
2004 through December 31, 2004.
    These limits will be revised when Nepal becomes a member of the 
World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO 
agreement to Nepal.
    In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the 
Commissioner, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to establish the 
2004 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 68 FR 1599, published on January 13, 2003). Information 
regarding the 2004

[[Page 68599]]

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; the Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected 
by exchange of notes dated May 30 and June 1, 1986, as amended and 
extended; and the Memorandum of Understanding dated July 13, 2000 
between the Governments of the United States and Nepal, you are 
directed to prohibit, effective on January 1, 2004, entry into the 
United States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for 
consumption of cotton and man-made fiber textile products in the 
following categories, produced or manufactured in Nepal 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 restraint limit
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336/636...................................  365,462 dozen.
340.......................................  479,856 dozen.
341.......................................  1,333,220 dozen.
342/642...................................  418,806 dozen.
347/348...................................  1,080,848 dozen.
363.......................................  9,773,596 numbers.
369-S \1\.................................  1,106,886 kilograms.
640.......................................  241,509 dozen.
641.......................................  544,541 dozen.
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\1\ Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.

    The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment pursuant to 
the provisions of the current bilateral agreement between the 
Governments of the United States and Nepal.
    Products in the above categories exported during 2003 shall be 
charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see 
directive dated October 8, 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 will be revised when Nepal becomes a member of the 
World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO 
agreement to Nepal.
    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. E3-00487 Filed 12-8-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-S