[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 18 (Monday, January 29, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3979-3980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-350]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Amendment of Limitation of Duty- and Quota-Free Imports of 
Apparel Articles Assembled in Beneficiary Sub-Saharan African Countries 
from Third-Country Fabric

January 23, 2007.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Amending the 12-Month Cap on Duty- and Quota-Free Benefits.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 29, 2007.

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

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, Section 7(b)(2) of the AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004, and 
Section 6002 of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (TRHCA 
2006); 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, subject to quantitative limitation. Title VI of the TRHCA 
2006 extended this special rule for lesser-developed countries through 
September 30, 2012. Further, this Act amended the percentage to be used 
in calculating the quantitative limitation for preferential treatment 
available for apparel articles entered under this special rule for 
lesser-developed Countries for the 12-month period beginning on October 
1, 2006 and extending through September 30, 2007. See Limitations of 
Duty-and Quota-Free Imports of Apparel Articles Assembled in 
Beneficiary Sub-Saharan African

[[Page 3980]]

Countries from Regional and Third-Country Fabric, published in the 
Federal Register on September 26, 2006 (71 FR 56112).
    Title VI of the TRHCA 2006 provides that the quantitative 
limitation for apparel imported under the special rule for lesser-
developed countries for the twelve-month period beginning October 1, 
2006 will be an amount not to exceed 3.5 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. See Section 6002(a) of TRHCA 2006. Presidential Proclamation 
7350 directed CITA to publish the aggregate quantity of imports allowed 
during each 12-month period in the Federal Register. The purpose of 
this notice is to amend the quantitative limitation previously 
published in the Federal Register on September 26, 2006 (71 FR 56112).
    For the one-year period, beginning on October 1, 2006, and 
extending through September 30, 2007, the aggregate quantity of imports 
eligible for preferential treatment under the provision 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 is 1,498,846,694 square meters equivalent. Of this amount, 
815,001,892 square meters equivalent is available to apparel articles 
imported under the special rule for lesser-developed countries. 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.

R. Matthew Priest,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. 07-350 Filed 1-24-07; 1:41 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S