03-1865. Establishment of Import Limits for Certain Wool and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Belarus

January 21, 2003.

AGENCY:

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION:

Issuing a directive to the commissioner of customs establishing limits.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

January 28, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Naomi Freeman, International Trade Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, [phone]. For information on the quota status of these limits, refer to the Quota Status Reports posted on the bulletin boards of each Customs port, call [phone], or refer to the U.S. Customs Web site at http://www.customs.gov. For information on embargoes and quota re-penings, refer to the Office of Textiles and Apparel website at http://otexa.ita.doc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority: Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended.

The Bilateral Textile Memorandum of Understanding dated January 10, 2003 between the Governments of the United States and Belarus establishes limits for the period January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2003. This notice cancels and supercedes the notice published on December 30, 2002 (67 FR 79571).

These limits may be revised if Belarus becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO agreement to Belarus.

In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the Commissioner of Customs to establish the limits.

A description of the textile and apparel categories in terms of HTS numbers is available in the CORRELATION: Textile and Apparel Categories with the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (see Federal Register notice 68 FR 1599, published on January 13, 2003).

James C. Leonard III,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

January 21, 2003.

Commissioner of Customs,

Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.

Dear Commissioner: Pursuant to section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended; this directive cancels and supercedes the directive issued to you on December 23, 2002. You are directed to prohibit, effective on January 28, 2003, entry into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of textiles and textile products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in Belarus and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 2003 and extending through December 31, 2003:

Category	Twelve-month restraint limit
622	9,100,000 square meters of which not more than 1,500,000 square meters shall be in Category 622-L 1.
435	66,000 dozen.
448	34,000 dozen.
1 Category 622-L: only HTS numbers 7019.51.9010, 7019.52.4010, 7019.52.9010, 7019.59.4010, and 7019.59.9010.

Products in Categories 622 and 622-L exported during 2002 shall be charged to the applicable category limit and sublimit for that year (see directive dated October 19, 2001) to the extent of any unfilled balance. In the event the limit and sublimit established for that period have been exhausted by previous entries, such products shall be charged to the limit and sublimit set forth in this directive.

The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment pursuant to the current bilateral agreement between the Governments of the United States and Belarus.

This limits may be revised if Belarus becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO agreement to Belarus.

In carrying out the above directions, the Commissioner of Customs should construe entry into the United States for consumption to include entry for consumption into the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has determined that this action falls within the foreign affairs exception of the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).

Sincerely,

James C. Leonard III,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.