[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 155 (Thursday, August 12, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49878-49879]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18468]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Revision of Limitations of Duty- and Quota-Free Imports of 
Apparel Articles Assembled in Beneficiary Sub-Saharan African Countries 
from Regional and Third-Country Fabric for the 12-Month Period October 
1, 2003 through September 30, 2004

August 9, 2004.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Publishing Revisions to the Fourth 12-Month Cap on Duty- and 
Quota-Free Benefits.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: August 12, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna Flaaten, International Trade 
Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, (202) 482-3400.

[[Page 49879]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Authority: Title I, Section 112(b)(3) of the Trade and 
Development Act of 2000, as amended by Section 3108 of the Trade Act 
of 2002 and Section 7(b)(2) of the AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004; 
Presidential Proclamation 7350 of October 4, 2000 (65 FR 59321); 
Presidential Proclamation 7626 of November 13, 2002 (67 FR 69459).
    Title I of the Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA 2000) 
provides for duty- and quota-free treatment for certain textile and 
apparel articles imported from designated beneficiary sub-Saharan 
African countries. Section 112(b)(3) of TDA 2000 provides duty- and 
quota-free treatment for apparel articles wholly assembled in one or 
more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries from fabric wholly 
formed in one or more beneficiary countries from yarn originating in 
the U.S. or one or more beneficiary countries. This preferential 
treatment is also available for apparel articles assembled in one or 
more lesser-developed beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries, 
regardless of the country of origin of the fabric used to make such 
articles. TDA 2000 imposed a quantitative limitation on imports 
eligible for preferential treatment under these two provisions.
    The Trade Act of 2002 amended TDA 2000 to extend preferential 
treatment to apparel assembled in a beneficiary sub-Saharan African 
country from components knit-to-shape in a beneficiary country from 
U.S. or beneficiary country yarns and to apparel formed on seamless 
knitting machines in a beneficiary country from U.S. or beneficiary 
country yarns, subject to the quantitative limitation. The Trade Act of 
2002 also increased the quantitative limitation but provided that this 
increase would not apply to apparel imported under the special rule for 
lesser-developed countries. The Trade Act of 2002 provided that the 
quantitative limitation for the year beginning October 1, 2003 would be 
an amount not to exceed 4.7931 percent of the aggregate square meter 
equivalents of all apparel articles imported into the United States in 
the preceding 12-month period for which data are available. Of this 
overall amount, apparel imported under the special rule for lesser-
developed countries is limited to an amount not to exceed 2.3571 
percent of apparel imported into the United States in the preceding 12-
month period. For the purpose of the calculation of the 12-month period 
that began on October 1, 2003 , the most recent 12-month period for 
which data were available was the 12-month period ending July 31, 2003.
    Section 7(b)(2)(B)(ii)(I) of the AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004 
extended the expiration of the quantitative limitations. It also 
amended the percentage to be used in calculating the cap for the 
twelve-month period that began on October 1, 2003 and extends through 
September 30, 2004. The new percentage is 4.747. The sub-cap applicable 
for apparel articles under the special rule for lesser-developed 
countries remains unchanged for this twelve-month period.
    Presidential Proclamation 7350 directed CITA to publish the 
aggregate quantity of imports allowed during each 12-month period in 
the Federal Register. Presidential Proclamation 7626, published on 
November 18, 2002, modified the aggregate quantity of imports allowed 
during each 12-month period. On September 16, 2003, CITA published the 
cap for the 12-month period from October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004.
    For the twelve-month period that began on October 1, 2003 and 
extends through September 30, 2004, the aggregate quantity of imports 
eligible for preferential treatment under these provisions is revised 
to 947,368,444 square meters equivalent. Of this amount, 470,411,241 
square meters equivalent is available to apparel imported under the 
special rule for lesser-developed countries. These quantities will be 
recalculated for each subsequent year. Apparel articles entered in 
excess of these quantities will be subject to otherwise applicable 
tariffs.
    These quantities are calculated using the aggregate square meter 
equivalents of all apparel articles imported into the United States, 
derived from the set of Harmonized System lines listed in the Annex to 
the World Trade Organization Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), 
and the conversion factors for units of measure into square meter 
equivalents used by the United States in implementing the ATC.

D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.
[FR Doc.04-18468 Filed 8-11-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-S