On September 28, 2016, the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) published in the Federal Register a document publishing the new 12-Month cap on duty- and quota-free benefits for imports of apparel articles assembled in beneficiary Sub-Saharan African countries from regional and third-country fabric.
For the one-year period, beginning on October 1, 2016, and extending through September 30, 2017, the aggregate quantity of imports eligible for preferential treatment under these provisions is 1,966,511,796 square meters equivalent. Of this amount, 983,255,898 square meters equivalent is available to apparel articles imported under the special rule for lesser-developed countries. Apparel articles entered in excess of these quantities will be subject to otherwise applicable tariffs. These quantities are calculated using the aggregate square meter equivalents of all apparel articles imported into the United States, derived from the set of Harmonized System lines listed in the Annex to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), and the conversion factors for units of measure into square meter equivalents used by the United States in implementing the ATC.
