E8-22575. Limitations of Duty- and Quota-Free Imports of Apparel Articles Assembled in Beneficiary ATPDEA Countries from Regional Country Fabric

AGENCY:

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION:

Publishing the New 12-Month Cap on Duty and Quota Free Benefits.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 1, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Richard Stetson, International Trade Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority: Section 3103 of the Trade Act of 2002, P.L. 107-210; Title VII of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (TRHCA 2006), P.L. 109-432; H.R. 1830, 110th Cong. (2007) (H.R. 1830); Presidential Proclamation 7616 of October 31, 2002 (67 FR 67283, November 5, 2002).

Section 3103 of the Trade Act of 2002 amended the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) to provide for duty and quota-free treatment for certain textile and apparel articles imported from designated Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) beneficiary countries. Section 204(b)(3)(B)(iii) of the ATPA, as amended, provides duty- and quota-free treatment for certain apparel articles assembled in ATPDEA beneficiary countries from regional fabric and components. More specifically, this provision applies to apparel articles sewn or otherwise assembled in one or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries from fabrics or from fabric components formed or from components knit-to-shape, in one or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries, from yarns wholly formed in the United States or one or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries (including fabrics not formed from yarns, if such fabrics are classifiable under heading 5602 and 5603 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) and are formed in one or more ATPDEA beneficiary countries). Such apparel articles may also contain certain other eligible fabrics, fabric components, or components knit-to-shape.

The TRHCA of 2006 extended the expiration of the ATPA to June 30, 2007. See section 7002(a) of the TRHCA 2006. H.R. 1830 further extended the expiration of the ATPA to February 29, 2008. H.R. 5264 further extended the expiration of the ATPA to December 31, 2008.

For the period beginning on October 1, 2008 and extending through December 31, 2008, preferential tariff treatment is limited under the regional fabric provision to imports of qualifying apparel articles in an amount not to exceed 5 percent of the aggregate square meter equivalents of all apparel articles imported into the United States in the preceding 12-month period for which data are available. For the purpose of this notice, the 12-month period for which data are available is the 12-month period that ended July 31, 2008. In Presidential Proclamation 7616 (published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2002, 67 FR 67283), the President directed CITA to publish in the Federal Register the aggregate quantity of imports allowed during each period.

For the period beginning on October 1, 2008 and extending through December 31, 2008, the aggregate quantity of imports eligible for preferential treatment under the regional fabric provision is 1,222,785,719 square meters equivalent. Apparel articles entered in excess of this quantity will be subject to otherwise applicable tariffs.

This quantity is calculated using the aggregate square meter equivalents of all apparel articles imported into the United States, derived from the set of Harmonized System lines listed in the Annex to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), and the conversion factors for units of measure into square meter equivalents used by the United States in implementing the ATC.

Dated: September 22, 2008.

R. Matthew Priest,

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.