CITA Determines Not to Revoke Previous Designation that Certain Fusible Interlining Fabrics for Use in Waistbands are "Commercially Unavailable" under CBTPA
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has published a notice regarding a petition submitted on behalf of Narroflex Inc., which had alleged that two coated, fusible interlining fabrics for use in waistbands1 (also termed ultra-fine elastomeric crochet fabrics), classified in HTS 5903.90.2500, which had been previously determined by CITA in April 2003 not to be available in commercial quantities in a timely manner, were in fact availablefrom the domestic industry.
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The petition requested that CITA revoke its previous designation making apparel using such fabric eligible for duty-free treatment under the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA).
CITA Determines Fabrics Can Be Supplied by Domestic Industry, But Does Not Revoke Previous Designation
After receiving Narroflex Inc.'s petition, based on the information and advice received and its understanding of the industry, CITA states that it determined that the subject fabrics can be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner.
However, CITA states that it subsequently received additional advice in a letter from the House Ways and Means Committee expressing strong concern about revocation, noting the adverse affects such a decision could have on U.S. textile manufacturers and on the economy of the Dominican Republic.
The letter also drew CITA's attention to the Ways and Means Committee reports on the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Implementation Act and the U.S.-Morocco FTA Implementation Act in which the congressional Committee expressed its view that "once an item is designated as being in short supply under trade preference programs, the item is permanently designated as such unless otherwise provided for by the statute implementing the trade preference program."
Based on the advice from a broad spectrum of the domestic industry and the House Ways and Means Committee, CITA states that it has decided not to revoke its previous designation, as such a revocation would have an adverse impact on a significant component of the U.S. textile industry that relies on CITA's previous designation.
According to CITA, apparel articles from these fabrics remain eligible for quota- and duty-free treatment under the textile and apparel commercial availability provisions of the CBTPA (HTS 9820.11.27).
1 See CITA's notice for detailed descriptions of these two fusible interlining fabrics.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 04/28/04 news, 04042830, for BP summary of CITA's notice seeking comments on Narroflex Inc.'s petition.)
CITA contact - Richard Stetson (202) 482-3400
CITA notice (FR Pub 09/07/04) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/06jun20041800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-20234.pdf