01-29914. Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Thailand

November 27, 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:

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.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 import restraint limits for textile products, produced or manufactured in Thailand and exported during the period January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002 are based on limits notified to the Textiles Monitoring Body pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). Pursuant to the provisions of the ATC, the third stage of the integration of textile and apparel products into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 will take place on January 1, 2002 (see 60 FR 21075, published on May 1, 1995). Accordingly, certain previously restrained categories have been modified or eliminated and certain limits have been revised. Integrated products will no longer be subject to quota. 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.

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

November 27, 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, and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), 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, wool, man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in Thailand and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 2002 and extending through December 31, 2002.

Category	Twelve-month restraint limit
Level not in a Group
239pt. 1	2,596,494 kilograms.
Levels in Group I
200	1,694,632 kilograms.
218	25,667,876 square meters.
219	9,038,048 square meters.
300	6,778,536 kilograms.
301-P 2	6,778,536 kilograms.
301-O 3	1,355,710 kilograms.
313-O 4	31,633,166 square meters.
314-O 5	72,304,377 square meters.
315-O 6	45,190,235 square meters.
317-O/326-O 7	18,971,298 square meters.
363	29,373,653 numbers.
369-S 8	451,902 kilograms.
604	1,057,298 kilograms of which not more than 677,853 kilograms shall be in Category 604-A 9.
611-O 10	13,807,176 square meters.
613/614/615	68,296,669 square meters of which not more than 39,767,408 square meters shall be in Categories 613/615 and not more than 39,767,408 square meters shall be in Category 614.
617	24,662,685 square meters.
619	10,167,802 square meters.
620	10,167,802 square meters.
625/626/627/628/629	19,919,861 square meters of which not more than 15,816,582 square meters shall be in Category 625.
Group II
237, 331pt.11, 332-348, 351, 352, 359pt. 12, 433-438, 440, 442-448, 459pt. 13, 631pt. 14 633-648, 651, 652, 659-H 15, 659pt. 16, 845, 846 and 852, as a group	387,228,301 square meters equivalent.
Sublevels in Group II
331pt./631pt.	742,838 dozen pairs.
334/634	881,210 dozen.
335/635	683,151 dozen.
336/636	451,902 dozen.
338/339	2,427,341 dozen.
340	406,713 dozen.
341/641	960,293 dozen.
342/642	836,020 dozen.
345	429,308 dozen.
347/348	1,153,345 dozen.
351/651	338,926 dozen.
659-H	1,807,218 kilograms.
433	10,253 dozen.
434	12,657 dozen.
435	57,512 dozen.
438	18,984 dozen.
442	22,046 dozen.
638/639	2,860,795 dozen.
640	745,637 dozen.
645/646	451,902 dozen.
647/648	1,608,772 dozen.
1 Category 239pt.: only HTS number 6209.20.5040 (diapers).
2 Category 301-P: only HTS numbers 5206.21.0000, 5206.22.0000, 5206.23.0000, 5206.24.0000, 5206.25.0000, 5206.41.0000, 5206.42.0000, 5206.43.0000, 5206.44.0000 and 5206.45.0000.
3 Category 301-O: only HTS numbers 5205.21.0020, 5205.21.0090, 5205.22.0020, 5205.22.0090, 5205.23.0020, 5205.23.0090, 5205.24.0020, 5205.24.0090, 5205.26.0020, 5205.26.0090, 5205.27.0020, 5205.27.0090, 5205.28.0020, 5205.28.0090, 5205.41.0020, 5205.41.0090, 5205.42.0020, 5205.42.0090, 5205.43.0020, 5205.43.0090, 5205.44.0020, 5205.44.0090, 5205.46.0020, 5205.46.0090, 5205.47.0020, 5205.47.0090, 5205.48.0020 and 5205.48.0090.
4 Category 313-O: all HTS numbers except 5208.52.3035, 5208.52.4035 and 5209.51.6032.
5 Category 314-O: all HTS numbers except 5209.51.6015.
6 Category 315-O: all HTS numbers except 5208.52.4055.
7 Category 317-O: all HTS numbers except 5208.59.2085; Category 326-O: all HTS numbers except 5208.59.2015, 5209.59.0015 and 5211.59.0015.
8 Category 369-S: only HTS number 6307.10.2005.
9 Category 604-A: only HTS number 5509.32.0000.
10 Category 611-O: all HTS numbers except 5516.14.0005, 5516.14.0025 and 5516.14.0085.
11 Categories 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.
12 Category 359pt.: all HTS numbers except 6115.19.8010, 6117.10.6010, 6117.20.9010, 6203.22.1000, 6204.22.1000, 6212.90.0010, 6214.90.0010, 6406.99.1550, 6505.90.1525, 6505.90.1540, 6505.90.2060 and 6505.90.2545.
13 Category 459pt.: all HTS numbers except 6115.19.8020, 6117.10.1000, 6117.10.2010, 6117.20.9020, 6212.90.0020, 6214.20.0000, 6405.20.6030, 6405.20.6060, 6405.20.6090, 6406.99.1505 and 6406.99.1560.
14 Category 631pt.: all HTS numbers except 6116.10.1730, 6116.10.4820, 6116.10.5520, 6116.10.7520, 6116.93.8800, 6116.93.9400, 6116.99.4800, 6116.99.5400 and 6116.99.9530.
15 Category 659-H: only HTS numbers 6502.00.9030, 6504.00.9015, 6504.00.9060, 6505.90.5090, 6505.90.6090, 6505.90.7090 and 6505.90.8090.
16 Category 659pt.: all HTS numbers except 6502.00.9030, 6504.00.9015, 6504.00.9060, 6505.90.5090, 6505.90.6090, 6505.90.7090, 6505.90.8090 (Category 659-H); 6115.11.0010, 6115.12.2000, 6117.10.2030, 6117.20.9030, 6212.90.0030, 6214.30.0000, 6214.40.0000, 6406.99.1510 and 6406.99.1540.

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 2001 shall be charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see directives dated October 27, 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.

Products to be integrated into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 on January 1, 2002 (listed in the Federal Register notice published on May 1, 1995, 60 FR 21075) which are exported during 2001 shall be charged to the applicable 2001 limits to the extent of any unfilled balances. After January 1, 2002, should those 2001 limits be filled, such products shall no longer be charged to any limit.

The conversion factors for Category 659-H and merged Categories 638/639 are 11.5 and 12.96, respectively.

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,

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.