[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 166 (Friday, August 27, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52650-52651]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-1953]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Amendment of Export Visa Requirements to Include the Electronic 
Visa Information System for Certain Cotton, Wool, and Man-Made Fiber 
Apparel Produced or Manufactured in the Republic of Maldives

August 23, 2004.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA)

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner, Bureau of Customs and 
Border Protection amending visa requirements.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: September 7, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross Arnold, International Trade 
Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, (202) 482-4212.

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 January 12, 2004 and August 4, 2004, the 
Governments of the United States and the Republic of Maldives agreed to 
amend the existing Visa Arrangement for cotton, wool, and man-made 
fiber apparel. The amended visa Arrangement establishes new provisions 
for the Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS), but continues the 
requirement for the paper visa. This notice amends, but does not 
cancel, the notice and letter to the Commissioner of Customs, as 
amended, published in the Federal Register on August 24, 1982. (See 47 
FR 36879.)
    A description of the textile and apparel categories in terms of 
categories within the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
is available in the CORRELATION: Textile and Apparel Categories with 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (see Federal 
Register notice 69 FR 4926, published on February 2, 2004).
    Goods integrated into GATT 1994 in Stages II and III by the United 
States will not require a visa or ELVIS transmission (see Federal 
Register notices 63 FR 53881, published on October 7, 1998 and 66 FR 
63225, published on December 5, 2001).
    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consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will meet the 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, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.

D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

August 23, 2004.

Commissioner,
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Washington, DC 20229.
    Dear Commissioner: This directive amends, but does not cancel, 
the directive issued to you on August 18, 1982, as amended, 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); pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreement on 
Textiles and Clothing, and the exchange of notes on January 12, 2004 
and August 4, 2004, between the Governments of the United States and 
the Republic of Maldives; and in accordance with the provisions of 
Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, you are directed 
to prohibit 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, and man-made fiber apparel, as detailed 
in the exchange of notes dated January 12, 2004 and August 4, 2004, 
and exported on or after September 7, 2004, for which the Government 
of the Republic of Maldives 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. The categories covered 
by this directive are 237, 239, 330-359, 431-459, and 630-659. 
Integrated products do not require an ELVIS transmission or a visa.
    A visa must accompany each shipment of the aforementioned 
textile products. The original visa in blue ink shall be stamped on 
the front of the original commercial invoice.
Visa Requirements
    Each visa stamp will 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 Maldives is MV), and a six digit 
numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g., 4MV123456.
    2. The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day, 
month, and year on which the visa was issued.
    3. The original signature of the issuing official authorized by 
the Government of the Republic of Maldives.
    4. The correct category(s), merged category(s), part 
category(s), quantity(s), and units of quantity in the shipment in 
the units(s) of quantity provided for in the U.S. Department of 
Commerce Correlation and in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTSUS), e.g., ``Cat. 340-510 DZ''.
    Quantities must be stated in whole numbers. Decimals or 
fractions will not be accepted.
    The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection shall not permit 
entry if the shipment does not have a visa, or if the visa number, 
date of issuance, signature, category, 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.
    Quantities shall be those determined by the Bureau of Customs 
and Border Protection.
    If the visa is not acceptable then a new visa must be obtained 
from the Government of the Republic of Maldives or a visa waiver may 
be issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce at the request of the 
Government of the Republic of Maldives and presented to the Bureau 
of Customs and Border Protection before any portion of the shipment 
will be released. The waiver, if used, only waives the requirement 
to present a visa with the shipment. 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 Bureau of Customs and 
Border Protection will not return the original document after entry, 
but will provide a certified copy of that visaed invoice for use in 
obtaining a new correct original visaed invoice, or a visa waiver.
    Only the actual quantity in the shipment and the correct 
category will be charged to the restraint level.
ELVIS Requirements:

[[Page 52651]]

    A. Each ELVIS transmission shall include the following 
information:
    i. 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 Maldives is MV), and a six digit 
numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g., 4MV123456.
    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), merged category(s), part 
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. Quantities must be stated in whole numbers. Decimals 
or fractions will not be accepted.
    iv. The quantity of the shipment in the correct units of 
quantity
    v. The manufacturer ID number (MID)
    B. Entry of a shipment shall not be permitted:
    I. if an ELVIS transmission has not been received for the 
shipment from the Government of the Republic of Maldives;
    II.if the ELVIS transmission for that shipment is missing any of 
the following information:
    i) visa number
    ii) category, part category, or merged category
    iii) quantity
    iv) unit of measure
    v) date of issuance
    vi) manufacturer ID number
    III. if the ELVIS transmission for the shipment does not match 
the information supplied by the importer, or the Customs broker 
acting as an agent on behalf of the importer, with regard to any of 
the following:
    i) visa number
    ii) category, part category, or merged category
    iii) 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 cancelled, except when entry has 
already been made using the visa number.
    C. A new, correct ELVIS transmission from the Government of the 
Republic of Maldives is required before a shipment that has been 
denied entry for one the circumstances mentioned above will be 
released.
    D. Visa waivers will only be accepted if the shipment qualifies 
for a one-time special purpose shipment that is not part of an 
ongoing commercial enterprise. A visa waiver may be issued by the 
Department of Commerce at the request of the Government of the 
Republic of Maldives. A visa waiver only waives the requirements to 
present an ELVIS transmission at the time of entry, and does not 
waive any quota requirements.
    E. In the event of a systems failure, shipments will not be 
released for twenty-four hours or 1 calendar day. If system failure 
exceeds twenty-four hours or 1 calendar day, for the remaining 
period of the system failure the Bureau of Customs and Border 
Protection will release shipments on the basis of the visa data 
provided by the Government of the Republic of Maldives. The Republic 
of Maldives will retransmit all data that was affected by the 
systems failure when the system is functioning normally.
Shipments not requiring visas or ELVIS transmission:
    Merchandise imported for the personal use of the importer and 
not for resale, regardless of value, and properly marked commercial 
sample shipments valued at U.S. $800 or less do not require a visa 
or an ELVIS transmission for entry and shall not be charged to 
Agreement levels.
Other Provisions:
    The visa stamp remains unchanged.
    Goods integrated into GATT 1994 in Stages II and III by the 
United States will not require a visa or ELVIS transmission (see 
Federal Register notices 63 FR 53881, published on October 7, 1998 
and 66 FR 63225, published on December 5, 2001, respectively). A 
visa and ELVIS transmission will continue to be required for non-
integrated products.
    The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has 
determined that this action fall with the foreign affairs exception 
to the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).
    Sincerely,
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. E4-1953 Filed 8-26-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-Dr-S