96-9480. Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations with the Government of El Salvador on Cotton and Man-Made Skirts

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 17, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16762-16763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-9480]



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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations 
with the Government of El Salvador on Cotton and Man-Made Skirts

April 11, 1996.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Notice.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Aldrich, International Trade 
Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, [phone]. For information on categories for which 
consultations have been requested, call [phone].

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).

    On March 29, 1996, under the terms of Article 6 of the Uruguay 
Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) and the Uruguay Round 
Agreements Act, the Government of the United States requested 
consultations with the Government of El Salvador with respect to cotton 
and man-made fiber skirts in Categories 342/642, produced or 
manufactured in El Salvador.
    The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no 
solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of El 
Salvador, the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements 
may later establish a limit for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse 
for consumption of cotton and man-made fiber textile products in 
Categories 342/642, produced or manufactured in El Salvador and 
exported during the twelve-month period which began on March 29, 1996 
and extends through March 28, 1997, at a level of not less than 209,563 
dozen.
    A summary statement of serious damage concerning Categories 342/642 
follows this notice.
    Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding 
the treatment of Categories 342/642, or to comment on domestic 
production or availability of products included in Categories 342/642, 
is invited to submit 10 copies of such comments or information to Troy 
H. Cribb, Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; ATTN: 
Helen L. LeGrande. The comments received will be considered in the 
context of the consultations with the Government of El Salvador.
    Because the exact timing of the consultations is not yet certain, 
comments should be submitted promptly. Comments or information 
submitted in response to this notice will be available for public 
inspection in the Office of Textiles and Apparel, room H3100, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC.
    Further comments may be invited regarding particular comments or 
information received from the public which the Committee for the 
Implementation of Textile Agreements considers appropriate for further 
consideration.
    The solicitation of comments regarding any aspect of the agreement 
or the implementation thereof is not a waiver in any respect of the 
exemption contained in 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1) relating to matters which 
constitute ``a foreign affairs function of the United States.''
    The United States remains committed to finding a solution 
concerning Categories 342/642. Should such a solution be reached in 
consultations with the Government of El Salvador, further notice will 
be published in the Federal Register.
    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

[[Page 16763]]

Federal Register notice 60 FR 65299, published on December 19, 1995).
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Summary Statement of Serious Damage--El Salvador
Cotton and Manmade Fiber Skirts--Category 342/642
March 1996
    The sharp and substantial increase in imports of cotton and manmade 
fiber skirts, Category 342/642, is causing serious damage or actual 
threat thereof to the U.S. industry producing cotton and manmade fiber 
skirts.
    U.S. imports of Category 342/642 from all sources increased from 
6,884,065 dozen in 1992 to 7,660,844 dozen in 1994, an increase of 11 
percent. Category 342/642 imports continued to increase in 1995, 
reaching 9,247,612 dozen, 21 percent above the 1994 level.
    Serious damage or actual threat thereof to the domestic industry 
producing cotton and manmade fiber skirts, Category 342/642, is 
attributed to a sharp and substantial increase in imports from El 
Salvador. The combination of high import levels, surging imports, and 
low priced goods from El Salvador has resulted in loss of domestic 
output, market share, employment, and man-hours worked.
    U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber skirts, Category 342/642, 
from El Salvador reached 209,563 dozen in 1995, a sharp and substantial 
increase of 92 percent above the 1994 level. Imports from El Salvador 
of Category 342/642 were 109,070 dozen in 1994, 41 percent above the 
77,220 dozen imported in 1993 and 29 percent above its 1992 level. 1995 
imports from El Salvador were 2.3 percent of total U.S. imports in 1995 
and 3.4 percent of U.S. production in the year-ending September 1995.
[FR Doc. 96-9480 Filed 4-16-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F