[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 231 (Friday, December 2, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-29726]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: December 2, 1994]
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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS
Establishment of a New Export Visa Arrangement for Certain
Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber
Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Qatar
November 28, 1994.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).
ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing
export visa requirements.
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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1995.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Tallarico, International
Trade Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of
Commerce, (202) 482-4212.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority: Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended;
section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C.
1854).
The Governments of the United States and Qatar reached agreement,
effected by exchange of notes dated September 20, 1993 and June 8,
1994, to establish an export visa arrangement for certain cotton, wool,
man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and
textile products, produced or manufactured in Qatar and exported from
Qatar on and after January 1, 1995. Goods exported during the period
January 1, 1995 through January 31, 1995 shall not be denied entry for
lack of a visa. Goods exported after January 31, 1995 must be
accompanied by an appropriate export visa.
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 58 FR 62645, published on November 29, 1993).
A facsimile of the visa stamp for the Government of the State of
Qatar is on file at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Textiles
and Apparel, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., room 3104, Washington,
DC.
Interested persons are advised to take all necessary steps to
ensure that textile products that are entered into the United States
for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will meet
the visa requirements set forth in the letter published below to the
Commissioner of Customs.
Rita D. Hayes,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
November 28, 1994.
Commissioner of Customs,
Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.
Dear Commissioner: Under the terms of section 204 of the
Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854), and the
Arrangement Regarding International Trade in Textiles done at Geneva
on December 20, 1973, as further extended on December 9, 1993;
pursuant to the Export Visa Arrangement, effected by exchange of
notes dated September 20, 1993 and June 8, 1994, between the
Governments of the United States and Qatar; and in accordance with
the provisions of Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as
amended, you are directed to prohibit, effective on January 1, 1995,
entry into the Customs territory of the United States (i.e., the 50
states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico) for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption
of cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable
fiber textiles and textile products in Categories 200-239, 300-369,
400-469, 600-670 and 800-899, including part categories and merged
categories 338/339/638/639, produced or manufactured in Qatar and
exported from Qatar on and after January 1, 1995 for which the
Government of Qatar has not issued an appropriate export visa fully
described below. Should additional categories, merged categories or
part categories be added to the bilateral agreement, the entire
category(s) or part category(s) shall be included in the coverage of
this arrangement on an agreed effective date. Goods exported during
the period January 1, 1995 through January 31, 1995 shall not be
denied entry for lack of a visa.
A visa must accompany each commercial shipment of the
aforementioned textile products. A circular stamped marking in blue
ink will appear on the front of the original commercial invoice. The
original visa shall not be stamped on duplicate copies of the
invoice. The original invoice with the original visa stamp will be
required to enter the shipment into the United States. Duplicates of
the invoice and/or visa may not be used for this purpose.
Each visa stamp shall include the following information:
1. The visa number. The visa number shall be in the standard
nine digit letter format, beginning with one numerical digit for the
last digit of the year of export, followed by the two character
alpha country code specified by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO)(the code for Qatar is ``QA''), and a six digit
numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g., 5QA123456.
2. The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day,
month and year on which the visa was issued.
3. The signature of the issuing official.
4. The correct category(s), merged category(s), part
category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity in the shipment as
set forth in the U.S. Department of Commerce Correlation (e.g.,
``Cat. 340-510 DOZ'').
Quantities must be stated in whole numbers. Decimals or
fractions will not be accepted. Merged category quota merchandise
may be accompanied by either the appropriate merged category visa or
the correct category visa corresponding to the actual shipment
(e.g., Categories 347/348 may be visaed as 347/348 or if the
shipment consists solely of 347 merchandise, the shipment may be
visaed as ``Cat. 347,'' but not as ``Cat. 348'').
U.S. Customs shall not permit entry if the shipment does not
have a visa, or if the visa number, date of issuance, signature,
category, quantity or units of quantity are missing, incorrect or
illegible, or have been crossed out or altered in any way. If the
quantity indicated on the visa is less than that of the shipment,
entry shall not be permitted. If the quantity indicated on the visa
is more than that of the shipment, entry shall be permitted and only
the amount entered shall be charged to any applicable quota.
The complete name and address of a company actually involved in
the manufacturing process of the textile product covered by the visa
shall be provided on the textile visa document.
If the visa is not acceptable then a new visa must be obtained
from the Government of Qatar, or a visa waiver may be issued by the
U.S. Department of Commerce at the request of the Government of
Qatar, and presented to the U.S. Customs Service before any portion
of the shipment will be released. The waiver, if used, only waives
the requirement to present a visa with the shipment. It does not
waive the quota requirement.
If import quotas are in force, U.S. Customs Service shall charge
only the actual quantity in the shipment to the correct category
limit. If a shipment from Qatar has been allowed entry into the
commerce of the United States with either an incorrect visa or no
visa, and redelivery is requested but cannot be made, U.S. Customs
shall charge the shipment to the correct category limit whether or
not a replacement visa or visa waiver is provided.
Merchandise imported for the personal use of the importer and
not for resale, regardless of value, and properly marked commercial
sample shipments valued at U.S.$250 or less, do not require a visa
for entry.
A facsimile of the visa stamp is enclosed with this letter.
The actions taken concerning the Government of Qatar with
respect to imports of textiles and textile products in the foregoing
categories have been determined by the Committee for the
Implementation of Textile Agreements to involve foreign affairs
functions of the United States. Therefore, these directions to the
Commissioner of Customs, which are necessary for the implementation
of such actions, fall within the foreign affairs exception to the
rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1). This letter will be
published in the Federal Register.
Sincerely,
Rita D. Hayes,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. 94-29726 Filed 12-1-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F
