[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 21, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46611-46613]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16450]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Solicitation of Public Comments Regarding Possible Safeguard 
Action on Imports from Honduras of Cotton, Wool, and Man-Made Fiber 
Socks

August 16, 2007.
AGENCY: The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (the 
Committee)

ACTION: Solicitation of public comments regarding possible safeguard 
action on imports from Honduras of cotton, wool, and man-made fiber 
socks (merged Category 332/432 and 632 part).

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SUMMARY: The Committee has decided, on its own initiative, to consider 
whether imports of Honduran cotton, wool, and man-made fiber socks 
(merged Category 332/432 and 632 part) are being imported into the 
United States in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or 
relative to the domestic market for such socks, and under such 
conditions as to cause serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to the 
U.S. industry producing such socks. The Committee is soliciting public 
comments to assist it in considering this issue and in determining 
whether safeguard action is appropriate. Comments must be submitted by 
September 20, 2007 to the Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of 
Textile Agreements, Room 3001A, United States Department of Commerce, 
14th and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sergio Botero, Office of Textiles and 
Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 482-4058.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Authority: Authority: Title III, Subtitle B, Section 321 through 
Section 328 of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States 
Free Trade Agreement (``CAFTA-DR'' or the ``Agreement'') 
Implementation Act; Article 3.23 of the Dominican Republic-Central 
America-United States Free Trade Agreement.

BACKGROUND:

    The CAFTA-DR textile and apparel safeguard applies when, as a 
result of the elimination of a customs duty under the Agreement, a 
textile or apparel article of the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, 
Guatemala, Honduras, or Nicaragua (``CAFTA-DR country''), is being 
imported into the United States in such increased quantities, in 
absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article, and 
under such conditions as to cause serious damage,

[[Page 46612]]

or actual threat thereof, to a domestic industry producing an article 
that is like, or directly competitive with, the imported article. In 
making this determination, the Committee: (1) shall examine the effect 
of increased imports on the domestic industry as reflected in such 
relevant economic factors as output, productivity, utilization of 
capacity, inventories, market share, exports, wages, employment, 
domestic prices, profits, and investment, none of which is necessarily 
decisive; and (2) shall not consider changes in technology or consumer 
preference as factors supporting a determination of serious damage or 
actual threat thereof. If a determination is affirmative, the Committee 
will provide written notice of its decision to the specified CAFTA-DR 
country and will consult with said party upon its request. 
Consultations with the specified CAFTA-DR country will begin without 
delay and shall be completed within 60 days of the date of the receipt 
of the request for consultations. The Committee shall make a 
determination on whether to apply a safeguard measure within 30 days of 
completion of the consultations.
    If the Committee makes a determination to apply a safeguard 
measure, the Committee may provide import tariff relief to the domestic 
industry to the extent necessary to remedy or prevent the serious 
damage or actual threat thereof and to facilitate adjustment by the 
domestic industry to import competition. Such relief would consist of 
an increase in the rate of duty on the article to a level that does not 
exceed the lesser of the applied U.S. normal trade relations (NTR)/
most- favored-nation (MFN) duty rate for the article or the applied 
U.S. NTR (MFN) duty rate in effect on the day before the Agreement 
entered into force. The import tariff relief is effective beginning on 
the date that the Committee's affirmative determination is published in 
the Federal Register. The maximum period of import tariff relief shall 
be three years. However, if the initial period for import relief is 
less than three years, the Committee may extend the period of import 
tariff relief to the maximum three-year period if the Committee 
determines that the continuation is necessary to remedy or prevent 
serious damage or actual threat thereof by the domestic industry to 
import competition, and that the domestic industry is, in fact, making 
a positive adjustment to import competition. Import tariff relief may 
not be imposed for an aggregate period greater than three years.
    Under Article 3.23.6 of the Agreement, if the United States 
provides relief to a domestic industry under the textile and apparel 
safeguard, it must provide the country whose good is subject to the 
measure ``mutually agreed trade liberalizing compensation in the form 
of concessions having substantially equivalent trade effects or 
equivalent to the value of the additional customs duties expected to 
result from the textile safeguard measure.'' Such concessions shall be 
limited to textile and apparel articles, unless the United States and 
the specified CAFTA-DR country agree otherwise. If the United States 
and the CAFTA-DR country are unable to agree on trade liberalizing 
compensation, that country may increase customs duties on any U.S. 
articles to achieve substantially equivalent trade effects. The 
obligation to provide compensation terminates upon termination of the 
safeguard relief.
    In accordance with section 4 of its procedures for considering 
action under the CAFTA-DR textile and apparel safeguard, (71 FR 25157, 
April 28, 2006), the Committee has decided, on its own initiative, to 
consider whether imports of Honduran cotton, wool, and man-made fiber 
socks are being imported into the United States in such increased 
quantities, in absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for 
cotton, wool, and man-made fiber socks, and under such conditions as to 
cause serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to the U.S. industry 
producing these products.
    The Committee is soliciting public comments on this matter, in 
particular with regard to whether imports of Honduran cotton, wool, and 
man-made fiber socks are causing serious damage, or actual threat 
thereof, to a domestic industry. It invites the public to provide 
information and analysis to assist the Committee in considering whether 
serious damage, or actual threat thereof, exists, and, if so, the role 
of imports of Honduran articles in causing that serious damage, or 
actual threat thereof. Such information may include the following: 
recent and historical data regarding the U.S. market for cotton, wool, 
and man-made fiber socks (including imports and U.S. production data); 
and a description of how, if at all, imports of Honduran cotton, wool, 
and man-made fiber socks will affect the domestic industry, as 
reflected in such relevant economic factors as changes in productivity, 
utilization of capacity, inventories, exports, wages, employment, 
domestic prices, profits, and investment, and any other information, 
relating to the existence of actual threat of serious damage. Any 
member of the public who provides information to the Committee should 
also indicate the sources from which information provided was obtained.
    In providing comments, the public may wish to consider the 
following data:

                     U.S. Imports of Cotton, Wool, and Man-Made Fiber Socks, Merged Category 332/432 and 632 part \1\ (Dozen pairs).
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                Period                         Imports from the World                 Imports from Honduras            Honduras' Share of Imports (%)
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2005                                   219,195,035                            10,946,828                            5.0
2006                                   233,245,477                            15,216,853                            6.5
Year-to-date June 2006                 111,395,689                            7,421,253                             6.7
Year-to-date June 2007                 120,235,661                            12,256,786                            10.2
Year-ending June 2006                  221,028,674                            13,183,488                            6.0
Year-ending June 2007                  242,085,449                            20,052,386                            8.3
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\1\ The relevant product of Honduran origin is imports from Honduras in Category 332/432 and 632 part, which consists of twenty-three Harmonized Tariff
  Schedule of the United States (HTS) sub-headings: 6115.10.3000, 6115.10.4000, 6115.10.5500, 6115.91.0000, 6115.92.6000, 6115.92.9000, 6115.93.6010,
  6115.93.6020, 6115.93.9010, 6115.93.9020, 6115.94.0000, 6115.95.6000, 6115.95.9000, 6115.96.6010, 6115.96.6020, 6115.96.9010, 6115.96.9020,
  6115.99.1410, 6115.99.1420, 6115.99.1810, 6115.99.1820, 6115.99.1910 and 6115.99.1920.


[[Page 46613]]


                    U.S. Production, Imports, Market and Domestic Market Share of Cotton, Wool, and Man-Made Fiber Socks, Merged Category 332/432 and 632 part (Dozen Pairs)
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                Period                               Production                           World Imports                              Market                       Domestic Market Share (%)
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2005                                   133,631,000                            219,195,035                            352,826,035                            37.9
2006                                   116,003,000                            233,245,477                            349,248,477                            33.2
Year-to-date March 2006                29,084,000                             50,450,041                             79,534,041                             36.6
Year-to-date March 2007                23,458,000                             57,017,494                             80,475,494                             29.1
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Comments must be in English, and must be received no later than 
September 20, 2007. Comments must be submitted in writing and 
electronic mail.
(1)An electronic mail (``email'') version of the comments must be 
either in PDF, Word, or Word-Perfect format, and sent to [email protected]. Comments must have a bolded heading stating 
``Public Version'', and all business confidential information must be 
deleted and substituted with asterisks. No business confidential 
information should be submitted in the ``email'' version of the 
document.
(2)The original signed comments must be mailed to the Chairman, 
Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, Room H3001A, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue N.W., 
Washington, DC 20230. Any business confidential information upon which 
an interested person wishes to rely must be included in the original 
signed comments only. Brackets must be placed around all business 
confidential information. Comments containing business confidential 
information must have a bolded heading stating ``Confidential 
Version.'' Attachments considered business confidential information 
must have a heading stating ``Business Confidential Information''. The 
Committee will protect from disclosure any business confidential 
information that is marked ``business confidential'' to the full extent 
permitted by law. Except for the inclusion of business confidential 
information, the two versions of comments should be identical.
(3) All comments submitted via ``email'' will be made available for 
public inspection at Import Administration's Central Records Unit, Room 
B-099, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on business days. 
In addition, the ``email'' version of the comments will be posted for 
public review on the Office of Textile and Apparel (``OTEXA''), CAFTA-
DR Free Trade Agreement website at http://otexa.ita.doc.gov/tradeagree2007.htm
    If a comment alleges that there is no serious damage, or actual 
threat thereof, or that the reduction or elimination of the duty did 
not result in an increase in imports so as to cause serious damage, or 
actual threat thereof, the Committee will closely review any supporting 
information and documentation, such as information about domestic 
production or prices of like or directly competitive products. While we 
are taking comments from the public, particular consideration will be 
given to comments representing the views of actual producers in the 
United States of a like or directly competitive product.
    Any interested party may submit information to rebut, clarify, or 
correct public comments submitted by any other interested party at any 
time prior to the close of the public comment period. If public 
comments are submitted less than 10 days before, or on, the applicable 
deadline for submission of such public comments, an interested party 
may submit information to rebut, clarify, or correct the public 
comments no later than 10 days after the applicable deadline for 
submission of public comments. Rebuttal comments must meet the 
requirements outlined in (1) through (2) of this Notice.
    The Committee will make a determination within 60 calendar days of 
the close of the comment period as to whether the United States will 
request consultations with Honduras. If the Committee is unable to make 
a determination within 60 calendar days, it will cause to be published 
a notice in the Federal Register, including the date by which it will 
make a determination. If the Committee makes a negative determination, 
it will cause this determination and the reasons therefore to be 
published in the Federal Register. If the Committee makes an 
affirmative determination that, as a result of the reduction or 
elimination of a duty, Honduran cotton, wool, and man-made fiber socks, 
merged Category 332/432 and 632 part are being imported into the United 
States in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to 
the domestic market for that article, and under such conditions as to 
cause serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to the U.S. industry 
producing cotton, wool, and man-made fiber socks, the United States 
will promptly notify Honduras in accordance with CAFTA-DR and will 
enter into consultations upon request.

R. Matthew Priest,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. E7-16450 Filed 8-20-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S