02-437. Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Wool and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Cambodia

January 3, 2002.

AGENCY:

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION:

Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing limits.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

January 8, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Roy Unger, 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 website at http://www.customs.gov. For information on embargoes and quota re-openings, 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 Memorandum of Understanding of December 29, 2001, between the Governments of the United States and Cambodia amends and extends the bilateral textile agreement of January 20, 1999 to cover the period January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2004. The limits under this agreement may be revised if Cambodia becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO agreement to Cambodia. In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the Commissioner of Customs to establish the 2002 limits, which include a nine percent (9%) increase to all of Cambodia's quotas under the Labor Standards provision described in Federal Register notice 64 FR 60428, published on November 5, 1999). 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 66 FR 65178, published on December 18, 2001).

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

January 3, 2002.

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; and the Memorandum of Understanding, dated December 29, 2001, between the Governments of the United States and Cambodia, you are directed to prohibit, effective on January 8, 2002, entry into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton, wool and man-made fiber textile products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in Cambodia and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 2002 and extending through December 31, 2002, in excess of the following levels of restraint:

Category	Twelve-month restraint limit
331/631	2,012,222 dozen pairs.
334/634	220,696 dozen.
335/635	84,383 dozen.
338/339	3,472,705 dozen.
340/640	973,656 dozen.
345	122,031 dozen.
347/348/647/648	3,894,622 dozen.
352/652	778,925 dozen.
435	21,037 dozen.
438	101,072 dozen.
445/446	123,533 dozen.
638/639	1,168,386 dozen.
645/646	324,552 dozen.

This directive cancels and supercedes the counting letter of December 26, 2001. The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment pursuant to the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding of December 29, 2001 between the Governments of the United States and Cambodia.

Products in the above categories exported during 2001 shall be charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see directive dated January 8, 2001) to the extent of any unfilled balances. In the event the limits established for that period have been exhausted by previous entries, such products shall be charged to the limits set forth in this directive.

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

Moreover, these limits may be revised in light of the U.S. determination as to whether working conditions in the Cambodian textile and apparel sector substantially comply with Cambodian labor law and internationally recognized core labor standards (see Federal Register notice 64 FR 60428, published on November 5, 1999).

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 these actions fall within the foreign affairs exception of the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).

Sincerely,

D. Michael Hutchinson

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.