interested party
(3) Apparel articles from regional fabric or yarns Apparel articles wholly assembled in one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries from fabric wholly formed in one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries from yarns originating in the United States or one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries or former beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries, or both (including fabrics not formed from yarns, if such fabrics are classified under heading 5602 or 5603 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States and are wholly formed in one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries), or from components knit-to-shape in one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries from yarns originating in the United States or one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries or former beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries, or both, or apparel articles wholly formed on seamless knitting machines in a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country from yarns originating in the United States or one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries or former beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries, or both, whether or not the apparel articles are also made from any of the fabrics, fabric components formed, or components knit-to-shape described in paragraph (1) or (2) (unless the apparel articles are made exclusively from any of the fabrics, fabric components formed, or components knit-to-shape described in paragraph (1) or (2)), subject to the following: (A) Limitations on benefits (i) In general Preferential treatment under this paragraph shall be extended in the 1-year period beginning October 1, 2003 , and in each of the 21 succeeding 1-year periods, to imports of apparel articles in an amount not to exceed the applicable percentage of the aggregate square meter equivalents of all apparel articles imported into the United States in the preceding 12-month period for which data are available. (ii) Applicable percentage For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “applicable percentage” means— (I) 4.747 percent for the 1-year period beginning October 1, 2003 , increased in each of the 5 succeeding 1-year periods by equal increments, so that for the 1-year period beginning October 1, 2007 , the applicable percentage does not exceed 7 percent; and (II) for each succeeding 1-year period until September 30, 2025 , not to exceed 7 percent. (B) Surge mechanism (i) Import monitoring The Secretary of Commerce shall monitor imports of articles described in this paragraph on a monthly basis to determine if there has been a surge in imports of such articles. In order to permit public access to preliminary international trade data and to facilitate the early identification of potentially disruptive import surges, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget may grant an exception to the publication dates established for the release of data on United States international trade in covered articles, if the Director notifies Congress of the early release of the data. (ii) Determination of damage or threat thereof Whenever the Secretary of Commerce determines, based on the data described in clause (i), or pursuant to a written request made by an interested party, that there has been a surge in imports of an article described in this paragraph from a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country, the Secretary shall determine whether such article from such country is being imported in such increased quantities as to cause serious damage, or threat thereof, to the domestic industry producing a like or directly competitive article. If the Secretary’s determination is affirmative, the President shall suspend the duty-free treatment provided for such article under this paragraph. If the inquiry is initiated at the request of an interested party, the Secretary shall make the determination within 60 days after the date of the request. (iii) Factors to consider In determining whether a domestic industry has been seriously damaged, or is threatened with serious damage, the Secretary shall examine the effect of the imports on relevant economic indicators such as domestic production, sales, market share, capacity utilization, inventories, employment, profits, exports, prices, and investment. (iv) Procedure (I) Initiation The Secretary of Commerce shall initiate an inquiry within 10 days after receiving a written request and supporting information for an inquiry from an interested party. Notice of initiation of an inquiry shall be published in the Federal Register. (II) Participation by interested parties The Secretary of Commerce shall establish procedures to ensure participation in the inquiry by interested parties. (III) Notice of determination The Secretary shall publish the determination described in clause (ii) in the Federal Register. (IV) Information available If relevant information is not available on the record or any party withholds information that has been requested by the Secretary, the Secretary shall make the determination on the basis of the facts available. When the Secretary relies on information submitted in the inquiry as facts available, the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, corroborate the information from independent sources that are reasonably available to the Secretary. (v) Interested party For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “interested party” means any producer of a like or directly competitive article, a certified union or recognized union or group of workers which is representative of an industry engaged in the manufacture, production, or sale in the United States of a like or directly competitive article, a trade or business association representing producers or sellers of like or directly competitive articles, producers engaged in the production of essential inputs for like or directly competitive articles, a certified union or group of workers which is representative of an industry engaged in the manufacture, production, or sale of essential inputs for the like or directly competitive article, or a trade or business association representing companies engaged in the manufacture, production, or sale of such essential inputs.