[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 243 (Friday, December 18, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 70107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33502]
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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS
Announcement of Import Limits and Guaranteed Access Levels for
Certain Cotton, Wool and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or
Manufactured in Costa Rica
December 14, 1998.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).
ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing
limits and guaranteed access levels.
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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naomi Freeman, International Trade
Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of
Commerce, (202) 482-4212. 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 (202) 927-5850, or refer to the U.S. Customs
website at http://www.customs.ustreas.gov. For information on embargoes
and quota re-openings, call (202) 482-3715.
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 and Guaranteed Access Levels (GALs) for
textile products, produced or manufactured in Costa Rica and exported
during the period January 1, 1999 through December 31, 1999 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 limits and guaranteed access
levels for 1999. The limit for Category 443 has been reduced for
carryforward applied in 1998.
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 61 FR 66057, published on December 17, 1997).
Information regarding the 1999 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.
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
December 14, 1998.
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, 1999, 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 Costa Rica and exported during the twelve-month
period beginning on January 1, 1999 and extending through December
31, 1999, in excess of the following restraint limits:
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Category Twelve-month limit
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340/640................................ 1,146,696 dozen.
342/642................................ 423,310 dozen.
347/348................................ 1,932,437 dozen.
443.................................... 205,635 numbers.
447.................................... 11,783 dozen.
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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 1998 shall be
charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see
directive dated November 24, 1997) 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.
Also pursuant to the ATC, and under the terms of the Special
Access Program, as set forth in 63 FR 16474 (April 3, 1998), you are
directed to establish guaranteed access levels for properly
certified cotton, wool and man-made fiber textile products in the
following categories which are assembled in Costa Rica from fabric
formed and cut in the United States and re-exported to the United
States from Costa Rica during the period beginning on January 1,
1999 and extending through December 31, 1999:
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Category Guaranteed access level
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340/640................................ 650,000 dozen.
342/642................................ 250,000 dozen.
347/348................................ 1,500,000 dozen.
443.................................... 200,000 numbers.
447.................................... 4,000 dozen.
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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 May 15, 1990, as amended, shall be denied entry
unless the Government of Costa Rica 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.
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 U.S.C.553(a)(1).
Sincerely,
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc.98-33502 Filed 12-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F
