[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 252 (Tuesday, December 31, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69082-69084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-33201]
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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS
Consolidation and Amendment of Export Visa Requirements to
Include the Electronic Visa Information System for Certain Cotton,
Wool, Man-Made Fiber, Silk Blend and Other Vegetable Fiber Textiles and
Textile Products Produced or Manufactured in Korea
December 24, 1996.
AGENCY: Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA).
ACTION: Issuing a directive to the Commissioner of Customs
consolidating and amending visa requirements.
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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross Arnold, International Trade
Specialist, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of
Commerce, (202) 482-4212.
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); Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
In exchange of notes dated November 12, 1996 and December 11, 1996,
the Governments of the United States and the Republic of Korea agreed
to amend the existing visa arrangement for textile products, produced
or manufactured in Korea and exported on and after January
[[Page 69083]]
1, 1997. The amended arrangement consolidates existing and new
provisions of the export visa arrangement, including provisions for the
Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS). In addition to the ELVIS
requirements, shipments will continue to be accompanied by an original
visa stamped on the front of the original commercial invoice issued by
the Government of the Republic of Korea. Goods which currently require
an exempt certificate shall not require an ELVIS transmission, but will
continue to require the exempt certificate.
In the letter published below, the Chairman of CITA directs the
Commissioner of Customs to amend the existing visa requirements for
textile products produced or manufactured in Korea and exported on and
after January 1, 1997.
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). Also see
56 FR 18574, published on April 23, 1991. Information regarding the
1997 CORRELATION will be published in the Federal Register at a later
date.
Interested persons are advised to take all necessary steps to
ensure that textile products that are entered into the United States
for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will meet
the visa requirements set forth in the letter published below to the
Commissioner of Customs.
Philip J. Martello,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile
Agreements.
Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
December 24, 1996.
Commissioner of Customs,
Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20229.
Dear Commissioner: This directive amends, but does not cancel,
the directive issued to you on April 17, 1991, as amended, by the
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements,
that directed you to prohibit entry of certain cotton, wool, man-
made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and
textile products, produced or manufactured in Korea for which the
Government of the Republic of Korea has not issued an appropriate
export visa or exempt certification.
Under the terms of section 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956,
as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854); pursuant to the Export Visa Arrangement,
effected by exchange of notes dated November 12, 1996 and December
11, 1996, between the Governments of the United States and the
Republic of Korea; and in accordance with the provisions of
Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, you are directed
to prohibit, effective on January 1, 1997, entry into the Customs
territory of the United States (i.e., the 50 states, the District of
Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) for consumption and
withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of cotton, wool, man-made
fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile
products in Categories 200-239, 300-369, 400-469, 600-670 and 800-
899, including part categories and merged categories (see Annex A),
produced or manufactured in Korea and exported on and after January
1, 1997 for which the Government of the Republic of Korea has not
issued an appropriate export visa or Electronic Visa Information
System (ELVIS) transmission fully described below. Should additional
categories, part categories or merged categories become subject to
import quota the entire category(s), part category(s) or merged
category(s) shall be included in the coverage of this arrangement.
A visa must accompany each commercial shipment of the
aforementioned textile products. A circular stamped marking in blue
ink will appear on the front of the original commercial invoice. The
original visa shall not be stamped on duplicate copies of the
invoice. The original invoice with the original visa stamp will be
required to enter the shipment into the United States. Duplicates of
the invoice and/or visa may not be used for this purpose.
Each visa stamp shall include the following information:
1. The visa number. The visa number shall be in the standard
nine digit letter format, beginning with one numeric digit for the
last digit of the year of export, followed by the two character
alpha country code specified by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) (the code for Korea is ``KR''), and a six
digit numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g.,
7KR123456.
2. The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day,
month and year on which the visa was issued.
3. The original signature of the issuing official of the
Government of the Republic of Korea.
4. The correct category(s), merged category(s), part
category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity in the shipment as
set forth in the U.S. Department of Commerce Correlation and in the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, annotated or
successor documents, shall be reported in the spaces provided within
the visa stamp (e.g., ``Cat. 340-510 DOZ'').
Quantities must be stated in whole numbers. Decimals or
fractions will not be accepted. Merged category quota merchandise
may be accompanied by either the appropriate merged category visa or
the correct category visa corresponding to the actual shipment
(e.g., Categories 347/348 may be visaed as 347/348 or if the
shipment consists solely of Category 347 merchandise, the shipment
may be visaed as ``Category 347,'' but not as ``Category 348'').
U.S. Customs shall not permit entry if the shipment does not
have a visa, or if the visa number, date of issuance, signature,
category, quantity or units of quantity are missing, incorrect or
illegible, or have been crossed out or altered in any way. If the
quantity indicated on the visa is less than that of the shipment,
entry shall not be permitted. If the quantity indicated on the visa
is more than that of the shipment, entry shall be permitted and only
the amount entered shall be charged to any applicable quota.
If the visa is not acceptable then a new visa must be obtained
from the appropriate export association through their Korean
suppliers, or a visa waiver may be issued by the U.S. Department of
Commerce at the request of the Government of the Republic of Korea
in Washington, DC, and presented to the U.S. Customs Service before
any portion of the shipment will be released. The waiver, if used,
only waives the requirement to present a visa with the shipment. It
does not waive the quota requirement.
If the visaed invoice is deficient, the U.S. Customs Service
will not return the original document after entry, but will provide
a certified copy of that visaed invoice for use in obtaining a new
correct original visaed invoice, or a visa waiver.
If a shipment from Korea has been allowed entry into the
commerce of the United States with either an incorrect visa or no
visa, and redelivery is requested but cannot be made, the shipment
will be charged to the correct category limit whether or not a
replacement visa or waiver is provided.
ELVIS Requirements:
A. Each ELVIS message will include the following information:
I. The visa number. The visa number shall be in the standard
nine digit letter format, beginning with one numeric digit for the
last digit of the year of export, followed by the two character
alpha country code specified by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) (the code for Korea is ``KR''), and a six
digit numerical serial number identifying the shipment; e.g.,
7KR123456.
II. The date of issuance. The date of issuance shall be the day,
month and year on which the visa was issued.
III. The correct category(s), merged category(s), part
category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s) of quantity in the shipment as
set forth in the U.S. Department of Commerce Correlation and in the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, annotated or
successor documents.
IV. The quantity of the shipment in the correct units of
quantity.
V. The manufacturer ID code.
B. Entry of a shipment shall not be permitted:
I. if an ELVIS transmission has not been received for the
shipment from the country of origin;
II. if the ELVIS transmission for that shipment is missing any
of the following:
a. visa number
b. category or part category
c. quantity
d. unit of measure
e. date of issuance
f. manufacturer ID number
[[Page 69084]]
III. if the ELVIS transmission for the shipment does not match
the information supplied by the importer or the Customs Broker
acting as an agent on behalf of the importer, with regard to any of
the following:
a. visa number
b. category or part category
c. unit of measure
IV. if the quantity being entered is greater than the quantity
transmitted.
V. if the visa number has previously been used, except in the
case of a split shipment, or cancelled, except when an entry has
been made using the visa number.
C. A new, correct ELVIS transmission from the country of origin
is required before a shipment that has been denied entry for one of
the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 3.B.I-V will be released.
D. A new, correct ELVIS transmission from the country of origin
is required for entries made using a visa waiver under the
procedures as previously described. Visa waivers will only be
considered for paragraph 3.B.I., if the shipment qualifies as a one-
time special purpose shipment that is not part of an ongoing
commercial enterprise, or legitimate classification disputes.
E. Shipments will not be released for forty-eight hours in the
event of a system failure. If system failure exceeds forty-eight
hours, for the remaining period of the system failure the U.S.
Customs Service will release shipments on the basis of the paper
visaed document.
If import quotas are in force, U.S. Customs Service shall charge
only the actual quantity in the shipment to the correct category
limit. If a shipment from Korea has been allowed entry into the
commerce of the United States with either an incorrect ELVIS
transmission, or no ELVIS transmission, and redelivery is requested
but cannot be made, the shipment will be charged to the correct
category limit whether or not a replacement visa or waiver is
provided or a new ELVIS message is transmitted.
Annex B lists all products exempt from quantitative levels of
the agreement with the Government of the Republic of Korea.
Other Provisions.
Merchandise imported for the personal use of the importer and
not for resale, regardless of value, and properly marked commercial
sample shipments valued at U.S.$250 or less, do not require a visa,
exempt certification, or ELVIS transmission for entry and shall not
be charged to agreement levels, if applicable. All other commercial
shipments of the above mentioned require a visa or exempt
certification for entry.
The visa and certification stamps remain unchanged.
The actions taken concerning the Government of the Republic of
Korea with respect to imports of textiles and textile products in
the foregoing categories have been determined by the Committee for
the Implementation of Textile Agreements to involve foreign affairs
functions of the United States. Therefore, these directions to the
Commissioner of Customs, which are necessary for the implementation
of such actions, fall within the foreign affairs exception to the
rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1). This letter will be
published in the Federal Register.
Sincerely,
Philip J. Martello,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile
Agreements.
Annex A
Part Categories
224-V Velvet: only HTS numbers 5801.21.0000,
5801.23.0000, 5801.24.0000, 5801.25.0010,
5801.25.0020, 5801.26.0010, 5801.26.0020,
5801.31.0000, 5801.33.0000, 5801.34.0000,
5801.35.0010, 5801.35.0020, 5801.36.0010
and 5801.36.0020.
224-O Other than velvet: all HTS numbers except
those in 224-V.
340-D Dress shirts: only HTS numbers
6205.20.2015, 6205.20.2020, 6205.20.2025
and 6205.20.2030.
340 Other than dress shirts: all HTS numbers
except those in 340-D.
359-H Headwear: only HTS numbers 6505.90.1540
and 6505.90.2060.
359-O Other: all HTS numbers except those in 359-
H.
369-L Luggage: only HTS numbers 4202.12.4000,
4202.12.8020, 4202.12.8060, 4202.92.1500,
4202.92.3015 and 4202.92.6090.
369-O Other: all HTS numbers except those in 369-
L.
459-W Woven headwear: only HTS number
6505.90.4090.
459-O Other: all HTS numbers except those in 459-
W.
640-D Dress shirts: only HTS numbers
6205.30.2010, 6205.30.2020, 6205.30.2030,
6205.30.2040, 6205.90.3030 and
6205.90.4030.
640-O Other than dress shirts: all HTS numbers
except those in 640-D.
641-Y Blouses with two or more colors in the
warp and/or filling: only HTS numbers
6204.23.0050, 6204.29.2030, 6206.40.3010
and 6206.40.3025.
641 Other: all HTS numbers except those in 641-
Y.
659-H Headwear: only HTS numbers 6502.00.9030,
6504.00.9015, 6504.00.9060, 6505.90.5090,
6505.90.6090, 6505.90.7090 and
6505.90.8090.
659-S Swimwear: only HTS numbers 6112.31.0010,
6112.31.0020, 6112.41.0010, 6112.41.0020,
6112.41.0030, 6112.41.0040, 6211.11.1010,
6211.11.1020, 6211.12.1010 and
6211.12.1020.
659-O Other: all HTS numbers except those in 659-
H and 659-S.
669-P Polypropylene bags: only HTS numbers
6305.32.0010, 6305.32.0020, 6305.33.0010,
6305.33.0020 and 6305.39.0000.
669-O Other: all HTS numbers except those in 669-
P.
670-L Luggage: only HTS numbers 4202.12.8030,
4202.12.8070, 4202.92.3020, 4202.92.3030
and 4202.92.9025.
670-O Other: all HTS numbers except those in 670-
L.
Merged Categories
300/301
317/326
613/614
619/620
625/626/627/628/629
333/334/335
338/339
342/642
347/348
351/651
353/354/653/654
445/446
633/634/635
638/639
645/646
647/648
369-L/670-L/870
Annex B
Exempt Products Requiring Exempt Certification (No Visa or ELVIS
transmission required)
1. Chima--The long, formless and ample skirt portion of the traditional
Korean chima-chogori dress set.
2. Chogori--The short halter-type blouse or top portion of the
traditional Korean chima-chogori dress set.
3. Bosun--An ankle boot-type article, wholly of cloth, worn by Korean
women indoors.
4. Fabrics--not to exceed 24x48 inches in size, containing hand
embroidered or hand painted Korean scenes, and used primarily as
decorations or art objects.
5. Handmade carpets--i.e., in which the pile was inserted, knotted by
hand and classified by the U.S. Customs Service under HTS 5701.10.1600,
5701.10.4000 (formerly 5701.10.2010) or 5703.20.1000.
6. Korean-style handbags and other flatgoods of the type considered by
the U.S. Customs Service to be classified as luggage-- Women's and
children's handbags, billfolds, card cases, coin purses, eyeglass cases
and similar flatgoods.
7. Martial Arts Uniforms.
8. Toys for animals.
[FR Doc. 96-33201 Filed 12-30-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-F