02-27090. Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Bangladesh

October 18, 2002.

AGENCY:

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION:

Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing limits.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

January 1, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ross Arnold, 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.ustreas.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 import restraint limits for textile products, produced or manufactured in Bangladesh and exported during the period January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2003 are based on the limits notified to the Textiles Monitoring Body pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC).

In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the Commissioner of Customs to establish the limits for the 2003 period. Certain 2003 limits have been reduced for carryforward applied to the 2001 limits. Also, special carryforward that was applied to the 2002 limit for Category 347/348, in the amount of 175,230 dozen, is being deducted as 525,690 dozen from the 2003 limit, reflecting the 3:1 payback penalty.

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). Information regarding the availability of the 2003 CORRELATION will be published in the Federal Register at a later date.

James C. Leonard III,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

October 18, 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 Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), you are directed to prohibit, effective on January 1, 2003, entry into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton and man-made fiber textile products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in Bangladesh and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 2003 and extending through December 31, 2003, in excess of the following levels of restraint:

Category	Twelve-month restraint limit
237	782,722 dozen.
331pt. 1	184,031 dozen pairs.
334	252,195 dozen.
335	428,749 dozen.
336/636	767,257 dozen.
338/339	2,222,663 dozen.
340/640	5,024,468 dozen.
341	4,334,870 dozen.
342/642	720,146 dozen.
347/348	3,220,394 dozen.
351/651	1,207,941 dozen.
352/652	17,063,426 dozen.
363	42,631,995 numbers
369-S 2	2,857,654 kilograms.
634	835,419 dozen.
635	541,253 dozen.
638/639	2,818,745 dozen.
641	1,742,878 dozen.
645/646	665,210 dozen.
647/648	2,356,029 dozen.
1 Category 331pt.: all HTS numbers except 6116.10.1720, 6116.10.4810, 6116.10.5510, 6116.10.7510, 6116.92.6410, 6116.92.6420, 6116.92.6430, 6116.92.6440, 6116.92.7450, 6116.92.7460, 6116.92.7470, 6116.92.8800, 6116.92.9400 and 6116.99.9510.
2 Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.

The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment pursuant to the provisions of the ATC and administrative arrangements notified to the Textiles Monitoring Body.

Products in the above categories exported during 2002 shall be charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see directive dated November 21, 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.

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has determined that these actions fall within the foreign affairs exception to the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).

Sincerely,

James C. Leonard III,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.