02-27092. Announcement of an Import Restraint Limit and Guaranteed Access Level for Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in El Salvador

October 18, 2002.

AGENCY:

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION:

Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing an import limit and guaranteed access level.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

January 1, 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-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 import restraint limit and Guaranteed Access Level (GAL) for textile products in Categories 340/640, produced or manufactured in El Salvador and exported during the period January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2003 are based on 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 limit and guaranteed access level for 2003.

This specific limit and guaranteed access level do not apply to goods that qualify for quota-free entry under the Trade and Development Act of 2000.

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.

Requirements for participation in the Special Access Program are available in Federal Register notice 63 FR 16474, published on April 3, 1998.

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 Categories 340/640, produced or manufactured in El Salvador and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 2003 and extending through December 31, 2003, in excess of 1,853,185 dozen.

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

Products in Categories 340/640 exported during 2002 shall be charged to the applicable category limit for that year (see directive dated November 16, 2001) 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.

Also pursuant to the ATC, and under the terms of the Special Access Program, as set forth in 63 FR 16474 (April 3, 1998), effective on January 1, 2003, a guaranteed access level of 1,000,000 dozen is being established for properly certified textile products in Categories 340/640 assembled in El Salvador from fabric formed and cut in the United States which are re-exported to the United States from El Salvador during the period beginning on January 1, 2003 and extending through December 31, 2003.

Any shipment for entry under the Special Access Program which is not accompanied by a valid and correct certification in accordance with the provisions of the certification requirements established in the directive of January 6, 1995 (60 FR 2740), as amended, shall be denied entry unless the Government of El Salvador authorizes the entry and any charges to the appropriate specific limit. Any shipment which is declared for entry under the Special Access Program but found not to qualify shall be denied entry into the United States.

This specific limit and guaranteed access level do not apply to goods that qualify for quota-free entry under the Trade and Development Act of 2000.

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,

James C. Leonard III,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.