[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 242 (Friday, December 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78241-78242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-32278]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


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

AGENCY: Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration.

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

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DATES: Effective Date: December 20, 2011.

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 (``HOPE''), Title V of the Tax Relief and 
Health Care Act of 2006 and the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 
2008 (``HOPE II''); the Haiti Economic Lift Program Act of 2010 
(``HELP''); and implemented by Presidential Proclamations No. 8114, 72 
FR 13655, 13659 (March 22, 2007), and No. 8596, 75 FR 68153 (November 
4, 2010).
    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. Pursuant to HELP, the applicable percentage for 
the period December 20, 2011 through December 19, 2012, is 50 percent 
or more.
    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 and HELP, requires that, 
for the twelve-month period beginning on December 20, 2011, 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. The aggregate square meters 
equivalent of all apparel articles imported into the United States is 
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. 
For purposes of this notice, the most recent 12-month

[[Page 78242]]

period for which data are available as of December 20, 2011 is the 12-
month period ending on October 31, 2011.
    Therefore, for the one-year period beginning on December 20, 2011 
and extending through December 19, 2012, the quantity of imports 
eligible for preferential treatment under the value-added program is 
326,752,739 square meters equivalent. Apparel articles entered in 
excess of these quantities will be subject to otherwise applicable 
tariffs.

    Dated: December 12, 2011.
Kim Glas,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles and Apparel.
[FR Doc. 2011-32278 Filed 12-15-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P