[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 57 (Monday, March 26, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 14084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-5566]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Limitation of Duty-free Imports of Apparel Articles Assembled in 
Haiti under the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership for 
Encouragement Act (HOPE)

March 22, 2007.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Publishing the 12-Month Cap on Duty-Free Benefits.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: March 26, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Stetson, International Trade 
Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, (202) 482-2582.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Authority: The Caribbean Basin Recovery Act (CBERA), as amended 
by the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership for 
Encouragement Act of 2006 (collectively HOPE), Title V of the Tax 
Relief and Health Care Act of 2006.
    HOPE provides for duty-free treatment for certain apparel articles 
imported directly from Haiti. Section 213A (b)(2) of HOPE provides 
duty- free treatment for apparel articles wholly assembled, or knit-to-
shape, in Haiti from any combination of fabrics, fabric components, 
components knit-to-shape, and yarns, if the sum of the cost or value of 
materials produced in Haiti or one or more countries, as described in 
HOPE, or any combination thereof, plus the direct costs of processing 
operations performed in Haiti or one or more countries, as described in 
HOPE, or any combination thereof, is not less than an applicable 
percentage of the declared customs value of such apparel articles, 
subject to quantitative limitation.
    Section 213A (a)(1)(B) of HOPE provides that the initial applicable 
one-year period of quantitative limitation means the one-year period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of HOPE, beginning on December 
20, 2006. Section 213A (b)(3) of HOPE provides that the quantitative 
limitations for qualifying apparel imported from Haiti under this 
provision for the twelve-month period beginning on December 20, 2006 
will be an amount not to exceed 1 percent of the aggregate square meter 
equivalent of all apparel articles imported into the United States in 
the most recent 12-month period for which data are available. For 
purposes of this notice, the most recent 12-month period for which data 
are available as of December 20, 2006 was the 12-month period ending on 
October 31, 2006.
    For the initial applicable one-year period, beginning on December 
20, 2006 and extending through December 19, 2007, the quantity of 
imports eligible for preferential treatment under this provision is 
238,785,275 square meters equivalent. Section 213A (b)(3) of HOPE 
provides that these quantities will be recalculated for each subsequent 
12-month period. Apparel articles entered in excess of these quantities 
will be subject to otherwise applicable tariffs.
    These quantities are calculated using the aggregate square meters 
equivalent 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. E7-5566 Filed 3-23-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S