BACKGROUND: Section 112(b)(5) of the AGOA and section 213(b)(2)(A)(v) of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), as added by section 211(a) of the CBTPA, and section 3103 of the ATPDEA allow preferential treatment for apparel made in beneficiary countries from certain fabrics or yarns to the extent that apparel of such fabrics or yarns would be eligible for preferential treatment, without regard to the source of the fabric or yarn, under Annex 401 of the North American Free Trade Agreement. These sections also authorize the President, on request of an interested party, to proclaim preferential treatment for apparel made in beneficiary countries from additional fabrics or yarn, if the President determines that such fabrics or yarn cannot be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner and the President complies with certain procedural requirements, one of which is to obtain the advice of the Commission. The President is required to submit a report to the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees that sets forth the action proposed to be proclaimed, the reasons for such action, and the advice obtained from the Commission and the appropriate advisory committee, within 60 days after a request is received from an interested party.

In Executive Order No. 13191, the President delegated to the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) the authority to determine whether particular fabrics or yarns cannot be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner. He authorized CITA and the USTR to submit the required report to the Congress, and delegated to USTR the authority to obtain advice from the Commission.

As requested by the USTR, the Commission will provide advice regarding the probable economic effect of providing preferential treatment for apparel made in AGOA and/or CBTPA beneficiary countries from fabrics or yarn, regardless of the source of the fabrics or yarn, which allegedly cannot be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner. The advice will be provided as to the probable economic effect of such action on affected segments of the U.S. textile and apparel industries, workers in these industries, and consumers of affected goods.

The Commission will not publish notices in the Federal Register of receipt of individual requests for advice. Instead, the Commission will issue a notification letter each time it initiates an analysis, and the news release will identify the article(s) under consideration, indicate the deadline for submission of public comments on the proposed preferential treatment, and provide the name, telephone number, and Internet e-mail address of staff who will be able to provide additional information on the request. CITA publishes a summary of each request from interested parties in the Federal Register. To view these notices, see the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Textiles and Apparel's (OTEXA) Internet site at http://otexa.ita.doc.gov/fr.stm. The Commission has developed a special area on its Internet site (http://www.usitc.gov/shortsup/shortsupintro.htm) to provide the public with information on the status of each request for which the Commission initiated analysis. The Commission has also developed a group list of facsimile addresses of interested parties or individuals who wish to be automatically notified via facsimile about any requests for which the Commission initiated analysis. Interested parties may be added to this list by notifying Jackie W. Jones (202-205-3466; jones@usitc.gov).

The Commission will submit its reports to the USTR not later than the 42^nd day after receiving a request for advice (or on the next business day if the 42^nd day falls on a weekend or holiday). The Commission will issue a public version of each report as soon thereafter as possible, with any confidential business information deleted.

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS: Because of time constraints, the Commission will not hold public hearings in connection with the advice provided under this investigation number. However, interested parties will be invited to submit written statements (original and 3 copies) concerning the matters to be addressed by the Commission in this investigation. The Commission is particularly interested in receiving input from the private sector on the likely effect of any proposed preferential treatment on affected segments of the U.S. textile and apparel industries, their workers, and consumers. Commercial or financial information that a person desires the Commission to treat as confidential must be submitted in accordance with section 201.6 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 C.F.R. 201.6). The Commission's Rules do not authorize filing of submissions with the Secretary by facsimile or electronic means. All written submissions, except for confidential business information, will be made available in the Office of the Secretary to the Commission for inspection by interested parties. The Commission may include confidential business information submitted in the course of this investigation in the reports to the USTR. In the public version of these reports, however, the Commission will not publish confidential business information in a manner that could reveal the individual operations of the firms supplying the information. All submissions should be addressed to the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436.