[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 19, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 75148]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30341]


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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: International Trade Administration, Commerce.

ACTION: Notification of annual quantitative limit on certain apparel 
under HOPE.

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DATES: Effective Date: December 20, 2012.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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, 2012 through 
December 19, 2013, 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 Title V of the Tax Relief and Health 
Care Act of 2006 and the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 
(HOPE II) and Haiti Economic Lift Program Act of 2010 (HELP), requires 
that, for the twelve-month period beginning on December 20, 2012, 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 period for which 
data are available as of December 20, 2012 is the 12-month period 
ending on October 31, 2012.
    Therefore, for the one-year period beginning on December 20, 2012 
and extending through December 19, 2013, the quantity of imports 
eligible for preferential treatment under the value-added program is 
306,742,329 square meters equivalent. Apparel articles entered in 
excess of these quantities will be subject to otherwise applicable 
tariffs.

    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 68,153 
(November 4, 2010).

    Dated: December 11, 2012.
Janet E. Heinzen,
Acting, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles and Apparel.
[FR Doc. 2012-30341 Filed 12-18-12; 8:45 am]
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