CITA Seeks Comments on "Commercial Availability" of Certain Shirting Fabrics in the U.S. or Proposed CAFTA Countries
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a notice seeking comments by August 16, 2004 on the commercial availability of certain shirting fabrics in the U.S. or in another of the proposed U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) countries (i.e., Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua).
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CITA Seeks Comments on Whether 53 Fabrics Are Commercially Available
According to CITA, in a letter to Honduras in the context of CAFTA, the U.S. agreed to conduct an investigation to determine whether certain shirting fabrics are available in commercial quantities in a timely manner in the territory of any of the parties to CAFTA, and the U.S. agreed to make the results of the investigation available to Honduras before the entry into force of CAFTA.
Therefore, CITA states that it is seeking comments with regard to whether the 53 fabrics listed in the annex to its notice can be supplied by the industry in the U.S. or a CAFTA country in commercial quantities in a timely manner. According to the annex, the woven, cotton or man-made fiber fabrics at issue are classified in HTS Chapters 52, 54, and 55. (See CITA's notice for the annex which lists the 53 fabrics.)
CITA states that it is particularly interested in detailed information regarding the ability to manufacture and supply the subject fabrics, including the location of the manufacturing facility, the types of equipment available to manufacture the subject fabric, the quantity that can be supplied, the amount of the subject fabric that has been supplied in past years, the time necessary to fulfill an order for the subject fabric, and a square foot sample of the subject fabric that the manufacturer claims it can supply.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 06/02/04 news, 04060205, for BP summary of the U.S. signing of CAFTA with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. See ITT's Online Archives or 03/31/04 news, 04033105, for BP summary of President Bush's intent to sign CAFTA with the Dominican Republic.)
CITA contact - Richard Stetson (202) 482-3400
CITA notice (FR Pub 07/16/04) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/06jun20041800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-16220.pdf