[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 244 (Thursday, December 18, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 77015]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30115]



[[Page 77015]]

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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)

December 12, 2008.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Notification of Annual Quantitative Limit on Certain Apparel 
under HOPE

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EFFECTIVE DATE: December 18, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria Dybczak, International Trade 
Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, (202) 482-3651.

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 and the Food, 
Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (``HOPE II''); and Presidential 
Proclamation No. 8114, 72 Fed. Reg. 13655, 13659 (March 22, 2007) 
(``Proclamation'').
    HOPE provides for duty-free treatment for certain apparel articles 
imported directly from Haiti. Section 213A (b)(1)(B) of HOPE outlines 
the requirements for certain apparel articles to qualify for duty-free 
treatment under a ``value-added'' program. In order to qualify for 
duty-free treatment, apparel articles must be wholly assembled, or 
knit-to-shape, in Haiti from any combination of fabrics, fabric 
components, components knit-to-shape, and yarns, as long as 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. For the period December 20, 2008 through 
December 19, 2009, the applicable percentage is 50 percent.
    For every twelve month period following the effective date of HOPE, 
duty-free treatment under the value-added program is subject to a 
quantitative limitation, HOPE provides that the quantitative limitation 
will be recalculated for each subsequent 12-month period. Section 213A 
(b)(1)(C) of HOPE, as amended by HOPE II, requires that, for the 
twelve-month period beginning on December 20, 2008, the quantitative 
limitation for qualifying apparel imported from Haiti under the value-
added program will be an amount equivalent to 1.25 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, 2008 is the 12-month period 
ending on October 31, 2008. Therefore, for the one-year period 
beginning on December 20, 2008 and extending through December 19, 2009, 
the quantity of imports eligible for preferential treatment under the 
value-added program is 305,093,845 square meters equivalent. 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.

Janet E. Heinzen,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.
[FR Doc. E8-30115 Filed 12-17-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS