96-24519. Settlement of Import Limits for Certain Wool Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Russia

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 25, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50279-50280]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24519]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

Settlement of Import Limits for Certain Wool Textile Products 
Produced or Manufactured in Russia

September 19, 1996.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs establishing 
a limit.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naomi Freeman, International Trade 
Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, [phone]. For information on the quota status of this 
limit, refer to the Quota Status Reports posted on the bulletin boards 
of each Customs port or call [phone]. For information on 
embargoes and quota re-openings, 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).

    A notice published in the Federal Register on September 20, 1995 
(60 FR 48695) announces a request by the Government of the United 
States for consultations with the Government of the Russian Federation 
with respect to women's and girls' wool coats in Category 435.
    In a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated August 5, 1996, the 
Governments of the United States and the Russian Federation agree to 
establish limits for wool textile products in Category 435 for four 
consecutive one-year periods, beginning on October 1, 1996 and 
extending through September 30, 2000.
    In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the 
Commissioner of Customs to establish a limit for Category 435 for the 
period October 1, 1996 through September 30, 1997.
    This limit may be subject to revision pursuant to the Uruguay Round 
Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing 
on the date that the Russian Federation becomes a member of the World 
Trade Organization.
    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).
    The letter to the Commissioner of Customs and the actions taken 
pursuant to it are not designed to implement all of the provisions of 
the August 5, 1996 MOU, but are designed to assist only in the 
implementation of certain of its provisions.
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
September 19, 1996.

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); the Memorandum 
of Understanding dated August 5, 1996 between the Governments of the 
United States and the Russian Federation; and in accordance with the 
provisions of Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, 
you are directed to prohibit, effective on October 1, 1996, entry 
into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse 
for consumption of wool textile products in Category 435, produced 
or manufactured in the Russian Federation and exported during the 
twelve-month period beginning on October 1, 1996 and extending 
through September 30, 1997, in excess of 51,000 dozen.
    Textile products in Category 435 which have been exported to the 
United States prior to October 1, 1996 shall not be subject to this 
directive.

[[Page 50280]]

    Textile products in Category 435 which have been released from 
the custody of the U.S. Customs Service under the provisions of 19 
U.S.C. 1448(b) or 1484(a)(1) prior to the effective date of this 
directive shall not be denied entry under this directive.
    Should the Russian Federation become a member of the World Trade 
Organization, the limit set forth above may be subject to revision 
pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act and the Uruguay Round 
Agreement on Textiles and Clothing.
    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 this action falls within the foreign affairs 
exception to the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C.553(a)(1).
    Sincerely,
D. Michael Hutchinson,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.
[FR Doc.96-24519 Filed 9-24-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F