Interim Procedures for Considering Requests under the Commercial Availability Provision of the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement

The United States and Panama negotiated the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (”the Agreement”), which was implemented into U.S. law by the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act (“the Act”) [Public Law 112-43]. The Agreement entered into force on October 31, 2012. Under the provisions of the Act, textile and apparel goods must contain fibers, yarns, and fabrics produced in Panama or the United States to receive duty-free tariff treatment. The Agreement also provides for the establishment of a list of specific fibers, yarns, and fabrics that are not available in commercial quantities in a timely manner from producers in the United States or Panama. Articles containing these commercially unavailable fibers, yarns, and fabrics are entitled to duty-free or preferential duty treatment despite containing inputs not produced in the United States or Panama. The list of commercially unavailable fabrics, yarns, and fibers may be changed pursuant to the commercial availability provision of the Agreement and the Act. Under Section 203(o) of the Act (“the commercial availability provision”), interested entities from Panama or the United States have the right to request that a specific fiber, yarn, or fabric be added to, or removed from, the list of commercially unavailable fibers, yarns, and fabrics. Section 203(o) of the Act requires that the President establish procedures for parties to follow when exercising the right to make these requests. The President delegated the responsibility for publishing the procedures and administering commercial availability requests to the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (“CITA”), which issues procedures and acts on requests through the Office of Textiles and Apparel (“OTEXA”). In accordance with the commercial availability provision, CITA has implemented procedures to collect certain information about the technical specifications of certain fibers, yarns, or fabrics and the production capabilities of U.S. textile suppliers to determine whether certain fibers, yarns, or fabrics are available in commercial quantities in a timely manner in the United States. The intent of these procedures is to foster trade in U.S. and Panamanian textile and apparel articles by allowing non-originating fibers, yarns, and fabrics to be placed on or removed from a list of items not available in commercial quantities, in a timely manner, and in a manner that is consistent with normal business practice. To that end, these procedures are intended to facilitate the timely transmission of requests for commercial availability determinations and offers to supply the products that are the subject of the requests; have the market indicate the availability of the supply of the subject products; make available promptly, to interested entities and parties, information received regarding the requests for products and offers to supply; ensure wide participation by interested entities and parties; provide careful scrutiny of information provided to substantiate order requests and responses of offers to supply; and provide timely public dissemination of information used by CITA in making commercial availability determinations. CITA must collect certain information about fabric, yarn, or fiber technical specifications and the production capabilities of Panamanian and U.S. textile producers to determine whether certain fabrics, yarns, or fibers are available in commercial quantities in a timely manner in the United States or Panama, subject to Section 203(o) of the Act.

The latest form for Interim Procedures for Considering Requests under the Commercial Availability Provision of the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement expires 2022-07-31 and can be found here.

Request for Commercial Availability Determination

Federal Enterprise Architecture: International Affairs and Commerce - Global Trade