01-29625. Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Nepal

November 23, 2001.

AGENCY:

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION:

Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing limits.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

January 1, 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 Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected by exchange of notes dated May 30 and June 1, 1986, as amended and extended, and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated July 13, 2000 between the Governments of the United States and Nepal establish limits for the period January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002. These limits may be revised if Nepal becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO agreement to Nepal. 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 2002 CORRELATION will be published in the Federal Register at a later date.

Jim Bennett,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

November 23, 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; the Bilateral Textile Agreement, effected by exchange of notes dated May 30 and June 1, 1986, as amended and extended; and the Memorandum of Understanding dated July 13, 2000 between the Governments of the United States and Nepal, you are directed to prohibit, effective on January 1, 2002, 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 Nepal 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
336/636	325,259 dozen.
340	427,070 dozen.
341	1,186,561 dozen.
342/642	372,736 dozen.
347/348	961,951 dozen.
363	8,698,466 numbers.
369-S 1	1,043,347 kilograms.
640	214,942 dozen.
641	484,640 dozen.
1 Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.

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

Products in the above categories exported during 2001 shall be charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see directive dated November 2, 2000) 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 Nepal becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO agreement to Nepal.

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,

Jim Bennett,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.