Establishment of Import Limits for Certain Wool and Man-Made Fiber Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Belarus

AGENCY:

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).

ACTION:

Issuing a directive to the Commissioner, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection establishing limits.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

January 1, 2005.

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 these limits, refer to the Quota Status Reports posted on the bulletin boards of each Customs port, call (202) 927-5850, or refer to the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection Web site at http://www.cbp.gov. For information on embargoes and quota re-openings, refer to the Office of Textiles and Apparel website at http://otexa.ita.doc.gov .

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.

The Bilateral Textile Memorandum of Understanding dated January 10, 2003 between the Governments of the United States and Belarus, as amended on May 13, 2004, establishes limits for the period January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005.

These limits may be revised if Belarus becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO agreement to Belarus.

In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the Commissioner, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to establish the limits.

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 69 FR 4926, published on February 2, 2004). Information regarding the availability of the 2005 CORRELATION will be published in the Federal Register at a later date.

Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements

September 20, 2004.

Commissioner,

Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, 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, 2005, entry into the United States for consumption and withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of textiles and textile products in the following categories, produced or manufactured in Belarus and exported during the twelve-month period beginning on January 1, 2005 and extending through December 31, 2005:

Products in the above categories exported during 2004 shall be charged to the applicable category limits and sublimits for that year (see directives dated December 12, 2003 and March 1, 2004 and) to the extent of any unfilled balance. In the event the limits and sublimits established for that period have been exhausted by previous entries, such products shall be charged to the limits and sublimits set forth in this directive.

The limits set forth above are subject to adjustment pursuant to the current bilateral agreement between the Governments of the United States and Belarus.

These limits may be revised if Belarus becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United States applies the WTO agreement to Belarus.

In carrying out the above directions, the Commissioner, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection 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,

D. Michael Hutchinson,

Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.