[Federal Register: December 22, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 245)]
[Notices]               
[Page 71982]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22de99-149]                         

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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS

 
Establishment of an Import Limit for Certain Man-Made Fiber 
Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Belarus

December 17, 1999.
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: January 1, 2000.

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 the quota status of this 
limit, refer to the Quota Status Reports posted on the bulletin boards 
of each Customs port, call (202) 927-5850, or refer to the U.S. Customs 
website at http://www.customs.ustreas.gov. For information on embargoes 
and quota re-openings, call (202) 482-3715.

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.

    A notice published in the Federal Register on September 27, 1999 
(64 FR 51962) announced that the Government of the United States had 
requested consultations with the Government of Belarus with respect to 
glass fiber fabric in Category 622, produced or manufactured in 
Belarus, and that, if no solution was agreed upon in consultations with 
the Government of Belarus, the Government of the United States reserved 
its right to establish a twelve-month limit of not less than 6,480,552 
square meters for the entry for consumption and withdrawal from 
warehouse for consumption of glass fiber fabric in Category 622, 
produced or manufactured in Belarus.
    As no solution was agreed upon in consultations, the Government of 
the United States has decided to limit imports in this category for the 
twelve-month period beginning on September 17, 1999 and extending 
through September 16, 2000.
    The United States remains committed to finding a mutual solution 
concerning Category 622. Should such a solution be reached in 
consultations with the Government of Belarus, further notice will be 
published in the Federal Register.
    This limit may be revised if Belarus becomes a member of the World 
Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO 
agreement to Belarus.
    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 which is 
published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

December 17, 1999.
    Commissioner of Customs,
Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.
    Dear Commissioner: Pursuant to section 204 of the Agricultural 
Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); Executive Order 11651 of 
March 3, 1972, as amended; you are directed to prohibit, effective 
on January 1, 2000, entry into the United States for consumption and 
withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of glass fiber fabric 
products in Category 622, produced or manufactured in Belarus and 
exported during the twelve-month period beginning on September 17, 
1999 and extending through September 16, 2000, in excess of 
6,480,552 square meters.\1\.
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    \1\ The limit has not been adjusted to account for any import 
exported after September 16, 1999.
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    Textile products in Category 622 which have been exported to the 
United States prior to September 17, 1999 shall not be subject to 
this directive.
    Textile products in this category 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.
    This limit may be revised if Belarus becomes a member of the 
World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO 
agreement to Belarus.
    Import charges will be provided at a later date.
    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 of the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).
    Sincerely,
Troy H. Cribb,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. 99-33227 Filed 12-21-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-M