[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 77 (Friday, April 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17279-17280]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-9619]
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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS
Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations
with the Government of the Ukraine on Certain Cotton and Man-Made Fiber
Textile Products
April 15, 1996.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).
ACTION: Notice.
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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 categories for which
consultations have been requested, call (202) 482-3740.
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, in accordance with Section 204 of the
Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended, the Government of the United
States requested consultations with the Government of the Ukraine with
respect to cotton and man-made fiber woven shirts in Categories 340/
640, produced or manufactured in the Ukraine.
The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no
solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of the
Ukraine, the
[[Page 17280]]
Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements may later
establish a limit for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse for
consumption of man-made fiber textile products in Categories 340/640,
produced or manufactured in the Ukraine 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 406,469 dozen.
A statement of serious damage concerning Categories 340/640 follows
this notice.
Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding
the treatment of Categories 340/640, or to comment on domestic
production or availability of products included in Categories 340/640,
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 the Ukraine.
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
implementation of an agreement 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 340/640. Should such a solution be reached in
consultations with the Government of the Ukraine, 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 Federal
Register notice 60 FR 65299, published on December 19, 1995).
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
Statement of Serious Damage--Ukraine
Cotton and Manmade Fiber Men's and Boys' Woven Shirts--Category 340/640
March 1996
Import Situation and Conclusion
U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber men's and boys' woven
shirts, Category 340/640, from the Ukraine reached 406,469 dozen in
1995, more than double the 185,803 dozen imported in 1994. Imports from
the Ukraine were 1.1 percent of total U.S. imports of Category 340/640
in 1995, and were equivalent to 3.1 percent of U.S. production of
Category 340/640 for the year-ending September 1995.
U.S. imports of cotton and manmade fiber men's and boys' woven
shirts, Category 340/640, from the Ukraine entered the U.S. at an
average landed duty-paid value of $60.62 per dozen in 1995, 58 percent
below the average U.S. producers' price for cotton and manmade fiber
men's and boys' woven shirts.
The sharp and substantial increase of low-valued Category 340/640
imports from the Ukraine is causing serious damage to the U.S. industry
producing cotton and manmade fiber men's and boys' woven shirts.
U.S. Production, Import Penetration, and Market Share
U.S. production of cotton and manmade fiber men's and boys' woven
shirts, Category 340/640, fell from 13,880,000 dozen in 1992 to
13,292,000 dozen in 1993, a decline of 4 percent. Domestic production
increased by 2 percent in 1994 to 13,589,000 dozen but remained 2
percent below the 1992 level. Domestic production of cotton and manmade
fiber men's and boys' woven shirts declined in 1995, falling to
9,459,000 dozen in the first nine months of 1995, 5 percent below the
January-September 1994 level. The year-ending September 1995 production
level at 13,096,000 dozen was 4 percent below the calendar year 1994
level and 6 percent below the 1992 level. In contrast, imports of
Category 340/640 increased every year since 1992, rising from
30,395,000 dozen in 1992 to 35,908,000 dozen in 1995, 18 percent above
the 1992 level.
The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 219
percent in 1992 to 242 percent in 1994 and reached 295 percent in the
first nine months of 1995. The share of the U.S. market for cotton and
manmade fiber men's and boys' woven shirts held by domestic
manufacturers fell from 27 percent in 1992 to 22 percent in 1994, and
to 18 percent during January-September 1995.
[FR Doc. 96-9619 Filed 4-18-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F
