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Russia Visa Arrangement Concerning Textiles And Textile Products

Embassy of the United States of America

The Embassy of the United States of America presents its compliments to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and has the honor to refer to discussions between representatives of the Russian Federation and the Government of the United States of America in Moscow on October 16-17, 1995, and in Geneva on November 30 - December 1, 1995, concerning exports to the United States of textiles and textile products manufactured in Russia, and to the Memorandum of Understanding concerning women's and girls' wool coats initialed by representatives of the two governments on December 1, 1995.

As a result of the above mentioned discussions and Memorandum of Understanding, the Embassy proposes on behalf of the Government of the United States of America, the following visa arrangement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the United States of America read as follows:

Visa Arrangement

Between the Government of

The Russian Federation and the Government of the

United States of America

Concerning Women's and Girls' Wool Coats

1. Definitions:

A. For the purpose of this arrangement, the term "women's and girls' coats" means products classified under category 435 as defined in the Correlation: Textile and Apparel Categories with the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.

B. A "visa" is a stamp issued by the authorized representative of the Government of the Russian Federation, which describes the shipment to the United States of women's and girls' coats, certifies its origin in the Russian Federation and authorizes shipment.

2. Visa Requirements:

A. The authorized representative of the Government of the Russian Federation shall issue a visa for each shipment of textiles, as defined in section one above, originating in Russia and exported for consumption in the Customs territory of the United States (the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico), regardless of value, except as noted in Paragraph 2.M. below, in category 435. The visa shall be presented to the U.S. Customs Service before entry, or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption, into the Customs territory of the United States.

B. A shipment shall be visaed by the stamp of the original circular visa in blue ink on the front of the original commercial invoice or successor document. The original visa shall not be stamped on duplicate copies of the invoice. The original of the invoice with the original visa stamp will be required to enter the shipment into the Customs territory of the United States. Duplicates of the visaed invoice and/or visa may not be used for this purpose.

C. Each visa stamp will include the following information:

I. 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 Russian Federation is 'RU'), and a six digit numeric serial number identifying the shipment, e.g., 6RU123456.

II. The date of issuance: The date of issuance shall be the day, month and the year on which the visa was issued.

III. The signature of the issuing official and printed name of the issuing official: The signature shall be that of an official authorized to issue visas by the Government of the Russian Federation.

IV. The correct category of the textile goods (435), quantities and units of quantity of the shipment in the units of quantity provided for in the U.S. Department of Commerce correlation and in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, annotated or successor documents shall be reported in the spaces provided within the visa stamp, (e.g., "Cat. 435 - 510 doz'). Quantities must be stated in whole numbers. Decimals or fractions will not be accepted.

D. If the quantity indicated on the visa is less than that of the shipment, entry shall not be permitted. Nevertheless, the shipment shall be allowed to enter a bonded warehouse and to be withdrawn for consumption into the customs territory of the United States within the limits of the amount indicated on the visa.

E. 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 counted as imports from the Russian Federation.

F. Entry will not be permitted, except as noted in paragraph 2.I. below, if the shipment does not have a visa, or if the visa number, date of issuance, signature, printed name of signer, category, quantity or units of quantity are missing, incorrect, illegible or have been crossed out or altered in any way.

G. The complete name and address of a company actually involved in the manufacturing process of the textile product covered by the visa shall be provided on the visaed invoice.

H. The categories, quantities and date of export shall be those determined by the U.S. Customs Service. The United States Customs Service classifies all imports into the customs territory of the United States in compliance with U.S. laws and regulations.

I. If a visa is not acceptable, then a new correct visa or a visa waiver must be presented to the U.S. Customs Service before any portion of the shipment will be released. A visa waiver may be issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce at the request of the competent authorities in Washington for the Government of the Russian Federation. A visa waiver only waives the requirement to present a visa at entry. 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.

J. If the visaed invoice is deficient, the U.S. Customs Service will not return the original document after entry, but will provide a certified copy of that visaed invoice for use in obtaining a new correct original visaed invoice, or a visa waiver.

K. If a shipment from the Russian Federation has been allowed entry into the commerce of the United States with either an incorrect visa or no visa, and redelivery is requested but cannot be made, the shipment will be charged to the correct category limit, if any, whether or not a replacement visa or visa waiver is provided.

L. The date of export is the actual date the merchandise finally leaves the country of origin. For merchandise exported by carrier, this is the day on which the carrier last departs the country of origin.

M. Merchandise imported for the personal use of the importer and not for resale, regardless of value, and properly marked commercial sample shipments valued at U.S. $250 or less do not require a visa for entry.

N. The Government of the Russian Federation shall provide the Government of the United States with three original, clear, reproducible, copies of the visa stamp which shall be the stamp designated for use throughout the entire period the visa arrangement is in effect, and three originals of the signatures of the officials authorized to sign visas. The stamp, and any subsequent changes thereto, must be approved by the Government of the United States. The Government of the Russian Federation shall notify the Government of the United States at least thirty days prior to a change in officials authorized to sign the visa.

O. The Government of the United States shall promptly supply the Government of the Russian Federation with data on monthly imports of category 435 from the Russian Federation into the United States. The Government of the Russian Federation shall promptly supply the Government of the United States with data on monthly exports of category 435 to the United States.

P. This arrangement will be effective for shipments of women's and girls' coats of category 435 exported from the Russian Federation on or after January 1, 1997. From January 1 through January 31, 1997, the U.S. will allow a grace period and accept shipments with or without a visa. A valid visa must accompany goods exported on or after February 1, 1997. Either Government may terminate this administrative arrangement by giving ninety days notice to the other.

If this proposal is acceptable to the Government of the Russian Federation, this note and the Ministry's note in reply shall constitute an agreement between the two governments, which shall enter into force on the date of the Ministry's note in reply.

The Embassy of the United States of America avails itself of the opportunity to extend to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation renewed assurances of its highest consideration.

Embassy of the United States of America

Moscow, October 22, 1996

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation confirms that the given U.S. proposal is acceptable for the Government of the Russian Federation, proceeding from the assumption that the given note and Note No. 169/96 of the U.S. Embassy of October 22, 1996, shall constitute an agreement between the two Governments, which shall enter into force on the date of the present note.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation avails itself of the opportunity to extend to the Embassy of the United States of America renewed assurances of its highest consideration.

Moscow

December 31, 1996

This link will send you to the US Department of Commerce Office of Textiles and Apparel's agreements page for current quota restraints, weekly performance reports, a contact point for inquiries, and other updated information.

Textiles and Apparel Agreements Link


TANC offers these agreements electronically as a public service for general reference. Every effort has been made to ensure that the text presented is complete and accurate. However, copies needed for legal purposes should be obtained from official archives maintained by the appropriate agency.