E3-00485. Announcement of Import Restraint Limits for Certain Cotton, Wool and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Cambodia

December 4, 2003.

AGENCY:

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION:

Issuing a directive to the Commissioner, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection establishing limits.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

January 1, 2004.

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 Bureau of Customs and Border Protection 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 Memorandum of Understanding of December 29, 2001, between the Governments of the United States and Cambodia amends and extends the bilateral textile agreement of January 20, 1999 to cover the period January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2004.

These limits will be revised when Cambodia becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO agreement to Cambodia.

In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to establish the 2004 limits, which include a fourteen (14) percent increase to all of Cambodia's quotas under the Labor Standards provision described in Federal Register notice 64 FR 60428, published on November 5, 1999.

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 68 FR 1599, published on January 13, 2003). Information regarding the availability of the 2004 CORRELATION will be published in the Federal Register at a later date.

James C. Leonard III,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

December 4, 2003.

Commissioner,

Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, 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 Memorandum of Understanding, dated December 29, 2001, between the Governments of the United States and Cambodia, you are directed to prohibit, effective on January 1, 2004, 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 Cambodia and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 2004 and extending through December 31, 2004, in excess of the following levels of restraint:

Category	Twelve-month restraint limit
331/631	2,364,645 dozen pairs.
334/634	259,348 dozen.
335/635	99,163 dozen.
338/339	4,080,920 dozen.
340/640	1,144,183 dozen.
345	143,403 dozen.
347/348/647/648	4,576,732 dozen.
352/652	915,347 dozen.
435	22,444 dozen.
438	107,834 dozen.
445/446	131,797 dozen.
638/639	1,373,019 dozen.
645/646	381,394 dozen.

Products in the above categories exported during 2003 shall be charged to the applicable category limits for that year (see directive dated December 4, 2002) 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 will be revised when Cambodia becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO agreement to Cambodia.

In carrying out the above directions, the Commissioner, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection 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.