Country of Origin of Textile and Apparel Products

This document adopts as a final rule, with some changes, interim amendments to title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations ("CFR") to revise, update, and consolidate the Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") regulations relating to the country of origin of textile and apparel products. The regulatory amendments adopted as a final rule in this document reflect changes brought about, in part, by the expiration on January 1, 2005, of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing ("ATC") and the resulting elimination of quotas on the entry of textile and apparel products from World Trade Organization ("WTO") members. The primary regulatory change consists of the elimination of the requirement that a textile declaration be submitted for all importations of textile and apparel products. In addition, to improve the quality of reporting of the identity of the manufacturer of imported textile and apparel products, this document adopts as a final rule an amendment requiring importers to identify the manufacturer of such products through a manufacturer identification code ("MID").