99-24983. Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations with the Government of Belarus

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 186 (Monday, September 27, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51962-51963]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-24983]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Request for Public Comments on Bilateral Textile Consultations 
with the Government of Belarus

September 21, 1999.
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, [phone]. For information on the category for which 
consultations have been requested, call [phone].

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.

    On September 17, 1999, under Section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 
1956, the Government of the United States requested consultations with 
the Government of Belarus with respect to glass fiber fabric in 
Category 622, produced or manufactured in Belarus.
    The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that, if no 
solution is agreed upon in consultations with the Government of 
Belarus, the Government of the United States reserves its right to 
establish a twelve-month limit for the period beginning on September 
17, 1999 and extending through September 16, 2000 of not less than 
6,480,552 square meters for the entry and withdrawal from warehouse for 
consumption of glass fiber fabric in Category 622, produced or 
manufactured in Belarus.
    A summary statement of serious damage, actual threat of serious 
damage or the exacerbation of serious damage concerning Category 622 
follows this notice.
    Anyone wishing to comment or provide data or information regarding 
Category 622 or to comment on domestic production or availability of 
products included in this category 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: Becky Geiger. The comments received will be 
considered in the context of the consultations with the Government of 
Belarus.
    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 commentary or 
information received from the public which the Committee for the 
Implementation of Textile Agreements considers appropriate for further 
consideration.
    This solicitation of comments 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 this category. Should such a solution be reached in 
consultations with the Government of Belarus, 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 63 FR 71096, published on December 23, 1998). 
Information regarding the 2000 CORRELATION will be published in the 
Federal Register at a later date.
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

0Statement in Support of Request for Consultations Under Section 204 of 
the Agricultural Act of 1956
Belarus
Glass Fiber Fabric--Category 622
Import Situation and Conclusion
    U.S. imports of glass fiber fabric, Category 622, from Belarus 
surged to 6,480,552 square meters during the year ending May 1999, over 
14 times the 456,093 square meters imported during the year ending May 
1998. During the first five months of 1999, Belarus shipped 4,864,218 
square meters, nearly 20 times the January-May 1998 level and over two 
and a half times the total calendar year 1998 level. In 1999, Belarus 
became the second largest supplier of glass fiber fabric to the United 
States, accounting for 10 percent of total Category 622 imports. In 
calendar year 1997, Belarus was the seventh largest supplier and 
accounted for less than one percent of total Category 622 imports. 
Imports from Belarus were 1.3 percent of U.S. production of Category 
622 in year ending March 1999 and only 0.1 percent in 1997.
    U.S. imports of glass fiber fabric, Category 622, from Belarus 
entered the U.S. at an average landed duty-paid value of $0.81 per 
square meter during the first five months of 1999, 23 percent below the 
average landed duty-paid value for all glass fiber fabric imports into 
the U.S., and 39 percent below the average U.S. producers' price for 
glass fiber fabrics.
    The sharp and substantial increase of low-valued Category 622 
imports from Belarus threatens to cause disruption to the U.S. glass 
fiber fabric market and industry.
U.S. Production, Import Penetration, and Market Share
    U.S. production of glass fiber fabric, Category 622, fell to 
388,849,000 square meters in 1998, 6 percent below the 1997 production 
level. Production continued downward in 1999, falling to 92,555,000 
square meters during January-March 1999,16 percent below the first 
quarter 1998 level. Imports of category 622 increased to 54,741,000 
square meters in 1998, 15 percent above the 1997 level, and reached 
65,657,000 square meters for the year ending May 1999, 38 percent 
higher than the level of imports for the same period a year earlier. 
Imports surged in 1999, increasing 52 percent during January-

[[Page 51963]]

May 1999 from the January-May 1998 level.
    The ratio of imports to domestic production increased from 11 
percent in 1997 to 14 percent in 1998 and reached 20 percent in the 
first quarter of 1999. The domestic manufacturers' share of the U.S. 
market for glass fiber fabrics fell two percentage points in 1998, 
dropping from 89 percent in 1997 to 87 percent in 1998 and fell an 
additional 4 percentage points to 83 percent in the first quarter 1999.
[FR Doc. 99-24983 Filed 9-24-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F