| Title: | ELVIS-HONG KONG |
|---|---|
| Date: | 1998-12-30 |
| To: | abi |
| Links: | previous, next |
TO : ALL ABI BROKERS.
FROM : CARLA ZZ-DONOFRIO
SUBJECT : ELVIS-HONG KONG
DATE : 12/23/1998
DECEMBER 18, 1998
SPE-2 FO:TC:I:E CDD
CATEGORY: TEX
TO : ALL PORT DIRECTORS, CUSTOMS MANAGEMENT CENTER (CMC)
DIRECTORS AND STRATEGIC TRADE CENTER (STC) DIRECTORS
FROM : DIRECTOR, TRADE COMPLIANCE
PASS TO : ALL IMPORT SPECIALISTS, NATIONAL IMPORT SPECIALISTS,
ENTRY OFFICERS, INSPECTORS, INTERNATIONAL TRADE
SPECIALISTS, BROKERS AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES
SUBJECT : TBT-98-094 - 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 HONG KONG
COUNTRY : HONG KONG
BACKGROUND :
A CITA DIRECTIVE DATED, DECEMBER 21, 1998, DIRECTED U.S.
CUSTOMS TO PROHIBIT, EFFECTIVE ON JANUARY 1, 1999, 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, PRODUCED OR
MANUFACTURED IN HONG KONG AND EXPORTED ON AND AFTER JANUARY
1, 1999 FOR WHICH THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE
REGION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (HKSAR) HAS NOT
ISSUED AN APPROPRIATE EXPORT VISA, EXEMPT CERTIFICATION 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.
THE U.S. CUSTOMS SERVICE WILL IMPLEMENT A SIX-MONTH TEST
PHASE IN WHICH, IN ADDITION TO THE ELVIS REQUIREMENTS,
SHIPMENTS WILL CONTINUE TO BE ACCOMPANIED BY A VISA. THERE
WILL BE A GRACE PERIOD BEGINNING ON JANUARY 1, 1999 AND
EXTENDING THROUGH JANUARY 14, 1999 DURING WHICH SHIPMENTS
ACCOMPANIED BY AN ORIGINAL HONG KONG VISA WILL BE PERMITTED
ENTRY EITHER WITH OR WITHOUT AN ELVIS TRANSMISSION.
BEGINNING ON JANUARY 15, 1999, TEXTILE PRODUCTS MUST BE
ACCOMPANIED BY AN ELVIS TRANSMISSION AND AN ORIGINAL HONG
KONG VISA.
A VISA MUST ACCOMPANY EACH SHIPMENT OF THE AFOREMENTIONED
TEXTILE PRODUCTS. A CIRCULAR STAMPED MARKING IN BLUE INK
WILL APPEAR ON THE FRONT OF THE ORIGINAL EXPORT LICENSE.
THE ORIGINAL VISA SHALL NOT BE STAMPED ON DUPLICATE COPIES
OF THE EXPORT LICENSE. THE ORIGINAL EXPORT LICENSE WITH THE
ORIGINAL VISA STAMP WILL BE REQUIRED TO ENTER THE SHIPMENT
INTO THE UNITED STATES. DUPLICATES OF THE EXPORT LICENSE
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 CODE SPECIFIED BY THE
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION (ISO) (THE
CODE FOR THE HKSAR IS ``HK''), AND A SIX DIGIT NUMERICAL
SERIAL NUMBER IDENTIFYING THE SHIPMENT; E.G., 9HK123456.
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
AUTHORIZED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE HKSAR.
4. THE CORRECT CATEGORY(S), PART CATEGORY(S), MERGED
CATEGORY(S), QUANTITY(S) AND UNIT(S) OF QUANTITY OF THE
SHIPMENT IN THE UNIT(S) OF QUANTITY PROVIDED FOR IN THE 1992
1995 BILATERAL AGREEMENT AND NOTIFIED TO THE TEXTILES
MONITORING BODY AND LISTED IN ANNEX A TO THE ARRANGEMENT
SHALL BE REPORTED IN THE SPACES PROVIDED WITHIN THE VISA
STAMP (E.G., ``CAT. 340-510 DOZ'').
5. QUANTITIES MUST BE STATED IN WHOLE NUMBERS. DECIMALS OR
FRACTIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
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, 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 CORRECT VISA MUST
BE OBTAINED FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF THE HKSAR OR A VISA
WAIVER ISSUED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AT THE
REQUEST OF THE HONG KONG ECONOMIC AND TRADE OFFICE IN
WASHINGTON, DC, FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE HKSAR 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 ANY QUOTA REQUIREMENT. VISA WAIVERS WILL
ONLY BE ISSUED FOR CLASSIFICATION PURPOSES OR FOR ONE-TIME
SPECIAL PURPOSE SHIPMENTS THAT ARE NOT PART OF AN ONGOING
COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE.
IF THE VISAED EXPORT LICENSE IS DEFICIENT, THE U.S. CUSTOMS
SERVICE WILL NOT RETURN THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT AFTER ENTRY,
BUT WILL PROVIDE THE IMPORTER A CERTIFIED COPY OF THAT
VISAED EXPORT LICENSE FOR USE IN OBTAINING A NEW CORRECT
VISAED EXPORT LICENSE OR A VISA WAIVER.
ELVIS REQUIREMENTS:
A. EACH ELVIS MESSAGE WILL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING
INFORMATION:
I. THE VISA NUMBER AS DEFINED ABOVE.
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), PART CATEGORY(S), MERGED
CATEGORY(S), QUANTITY(S) AND UNIT(S) OF QUANTITY OF THE
SHIPMENT IN THE UNIT(S) OF QUANTITY PROVIDED FOR IN THE
19921995 BILATERAL AGREEMENT AND NOTIFIED TO THE
TEXTILES MONITORING BODY AND LISTED IN ANNEX A TO THE
ARRANGEMENT.
IV. THE MANUFACTURER ID NUMBER (MID). THE MID SHALL BEGIN
WITH ``HK,'' FOLLOWED BY THE FIRST THREE CHARACTERS
FROM EACH OF THE FIRST TWO WORDS OF THE NAME OF THE
MANUFACTURER, FOLLOWED BY THE LARGEST NUMBER ON THE
ADDRESS LINE UP TO THE FIRST FOUR DIGITS, FOLLOWED BY
THREE LETTERS FROM THE CITY NAME.
B. ENTRY OF A SHIPMENT SHALL NOT BE PERMITTED:
I. IF AN ELVIS TRANSMISSION HAS NOT BEEN RECEIVED FOR THE
SHIPMENT FROM THE HKSAR;
II. IF THE ELVIS TRANSMISSION FOR THAT SHIPMENT IS MISSING
ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
A. VISA NUMBER
B. CATEGORY, PART CATEGORY OR MERGED CATEGORY
C. QUANTITY
D. UNIT OF MEASURE
E. DATE OF ISSUANCE
F. MANUFACTURER ID NUMBER;
III. IF THE ELVIS TRANSMISSION FOR THE SHIPMENT DOES NOT
MATCH THE INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY THE IMPORTER WITH
REGARD TO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
A. VISA NUMBER
B. CATEGORY, PART CATEGORY OR MERGED 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 CANCELED, EXCEPT WHEN
AN ENTRY HAS ALREADY BEEN MADE USING THE VISA NUMBER.
C. A NEW, CORRECT ELVIS TRANSMISSION FROM THE HKSAR IS
REQUIRED BEFORE A SHIPMENT THAT HAS BEEN DENIED ENTRY
FOR ONE OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED ABOVE WILL BE
RELEASED.
D. VISA WAIVERS WILL ONLY BE CONSIDERED FOR ONE TIME
SPECIAL PURPOSE SHIPMENTS THAT ARE NOT PART OF AN
ONGOING COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE AND FOR LEGITIMATE
CLASSIFICATION PURPOSES.
E. SHIPMENTS WILL NOT BE RELEASED FOR TWENTYFOUR HOURS OR
1 CALENDAR DAY IN THE EVENT OF A SYSTEM FAILURE. IF
SYSTEM FAILURE EXCEEDS TWENTYFOUR HOURS OR 1 CALENDAR
DAY, FOR THE REMAINING PERIOD OF THE SYSTEM FAILURE THE
U.S. CUSTOMS SERVICE WILL RELEASE SHIPMENTS ON THE
BASIS OF THE PAPER VISAED DOCUMENT.
F. IF A SHIPMENT FROM THE HKSAR IS ALLOWED ENTRY INTO THE
COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES WITH AN INCORRECT VISA,
NO VISA, AN INCORRECT ELVIS TRANSMISSION, OR NO ELVIS
TRANSMISSION, AND REDELIVERY IS REQUESTED BUT CANNOT BE
MADE, AND AFTER THE GOVERNMENT OF THE HKSAR DOES NOT
ISSUE A VISA OR ELVIS TRANSMISSION OR REQUEST A VISA
WAIVER (IF APPLICABLE), 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.
G. THE U.S. CUSTOMS WILL PROVIDE THE GOVERNMENT OF THE
HKSAR WITH AN ELECTRONIC REPORT ON VISA UTILIZATION
WHICH IS ACCESSIBLE AT ANY TIME. THIS REPORT WILL
CONTAIN:
A. VISA NUMBER
B. CATEGORY NUMBER
C. UNIT OF MEASURE
D. QUANTITY CHARGED TO QUOTA
E. ENTRY NUMBER
F. ENTRY LINE NUMBER
OTHER PROVISIONS:
WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SUITS OF WOOL, MAN-MADE FIBERS, SILK
BLEND AND-OR NON-COTTON VEGETABLE FIBERS, ALL TEXTILES AND
TEXTILE PRODUCTS, INCLUDING BONA-FIDE GIFTS VALUED AT US$50
OR LESS, IMPORTED FOR THE PERSONAL USE OF THE IMPORTER AND
NOT FOR RESALE, REGARDLESS OF VALUE, AND PROPERLY MARKED
COMMERCIAL SAMPLE SHIPMENTS VALUED AT US$800 OR LESS DO NOT
REQUIRE A VISA OR ELVIS TRANSMISSION FOR ENTRY AND SHALL NOT
BE CHARGED TO AGREEMENT LEVELS IF APPLICABLE.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, PERSONAL SHIPMENTS OF SUITS
OF WOOL, MAN-MADE FIBERS, SILK BLEND AND-OR NON-COTTON
VEGETABLE FIBERS ACCOMPANYING THE TRAVELER, REGARDLESS OF
VALUE, DO NOT REQUIRE A VISA OR ELVIS TRANSMISSION FOR ENTRY
AND SHALL NOT BE CHARGED TO AGREEMENT LEVELS.
EFFECTIVE ON JANUARY 1, 1999 NEITHER A VISA NOR AN ELVIS
TRANSMISSION WILL BE REQUIRED FOR PRODUCTS INTEGRATED IN THE
SECOND STAGE OF THE INTEGRATION OF TEXTILES AND CLOTHING
INTO GATT 1994 FROM WTO MEMBER COUNTRIES (SEE DIRECTIVE
DATED SEPTEMBER 30, 1998) A VISA WILL CONTINUE TO BE
REQUIRED FOR NON-INTEGRATED PRODUCTS.
ANY SHIPMENT WHICH IS NOT ACCOMPANIED BY A VALID AND CORRECT
VISA AND ELVIS TRANSMISSION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FOREGOING
PROVISIONS, SHALL BE DENIED ENTRY BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE
UNITED STATES UNLESS THE GOVERNMENT OF THE HKSAR AUTHORIZES
THE ENTRY AND ANY CHARGES TO THE AGREEMENT LEVELS.
ACTION:
THIS TBT FORMALIZES THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT AND THE HKSAR TO AMEND THE EXISTING VISA
REQUIREMENTS FOR TEXTILE PRODUCTS, PRODUCED OR MANUFACTURED
IN HONG KONG AND EXPORTED ON AND AFTER JANUARY 1, 1999. THE
AMENDED ARRANGEMENT CONSOLIDATES EXISTING AND NEW PROVISIONS
OF THE EXPORT VISA ARRANGEMENT, INCLUDING PROVISIONS FOR THE
ELVIS.
INFORMATION:
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS CONCERNING THIS TELEX, CONTACT
CARLA D'ONOFRIO AT (202) 927-0424, JUNE PERGOLA AT (202) 927-
0705, OR BOB DORSETT AT (202) 927-7002, TRADE COMPLIANCE.
PHILIP METZGER