01-26779. Establishment of an Import Limit for Certain Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Belarus

October 19, 2001.

AGENCY:

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION:

Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing a limit.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

January 1, 2002.

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.ustreas.gov. For information on embargoes and quota re-openings, refer to the Office of Textiles and Apparel Web site 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 February 17, 2000 between the Governments of the United States and Belarus establishes a limit for the period January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002. This limit 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 2002 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 65 FR 82328, published on December 28, 2000). Information regarding the availability of the 2002 CORRELATION will be published in the Federal Register at a later date.

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

October 19, 2001.

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; you are directed to prohibit, effective on January 1, 2002, entry into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of glass fiber fabric products in Category 622, produced or manufactured in Belarus and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 2002 and extending through December 31, 2002, in excess of 12,921,400 square meters of which not more than 1,123,600 square meters shall be in Category 622-L ^[1] .

Products in the above categories exported during 2001 shall be charged to the applicable category limit for that year (see directive dated November 14, 2000) to the extent of any unfilled balance. In the event the limit established for that period has been exhausted by previous entries, such products shall be charged to the limit set forth in this directive.

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

This limit 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,

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Footnotes

1.  Category 622-L: only HTS numbers 7019.51.9010, 7019.52.4010, 7019.52.9010, 7019.59.4010, and 7019.59.9010.