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Federal Register Notices
[Federal Register: October 4, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 192)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 56677-56678]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04oc07-11]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Office of the Secretary
7 CFR Part 6
RIN 0551-AA70
The Dairy Import Licensing
Program
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
SUMMARY: This proposed rule would suspend the
historical license
reduction provisions of the dairy
import licensing program, 7 CFR part
6, for a period of 5 years. This temporary
suspension is intended to
improve program administration and reflect
changes in the markets for
cheese and other dairy products
subject to import licensing
requirements.
DATES: Submit comments on or before November 5,
2007.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments concerning this
proposed rule to Ron
Lord, Branch Chief, Sugar and Dairy
Branch, Import and Trade Support
Programs Division, Foreign Agricultural Service,
1400 Independence
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250, Room 5531-S,
STOP 1021, e-mail at
Ronald.Lord@usda.gov, telephone (202)
720-2916, or fax at (202) 720-0876. Persons with disabilities who require an
alternative means for
communication of information (Braille, large
print, audiotape, etc.)
should contact USDA's Target Center at (202)
720-2600 (voice and TDD).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Ron
Lord, Branch Chief, Sugar
and Dairy Branch, Import and
Trade Support Programs Division, Foreign
Agricultural Service, 1400 Independence Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC
20250, Room 5531-S, STOP 1021, e-mail at
Ronald.Lord@usda.gov,
telephone (202) 720-2916, or fax at (202)
720-0876.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Order 12866
The proposed rule has been determined to be non-significant
under E.O. 12866 and has been reviewed by the
Office of Management and Budget.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act ensures that regulatory and
information requirements are tailored to the
size and nature of small businesses, small
organizations, and small governmental
jurisdictions. This proposed rule will not have
a significant economic impact on small
businesses participating in the program.
Executive Order 12988
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order
12988. The provisions of this proposed rule
would not have preemptive effect with respect to
any State or local laws, regulations, or
policies which conflict with such provision or
which otherwise impede their full
implementation. The proposed rule would not have
a retroactive effect. Before any judicial action
may be brought forward regarding this proposed
rule, all administrative remedies must be
exhausted.
National Environmental Policy Act
The Administrator has determined that this action will not
have a significant effect on the quality of the
human environment. Therefore, neither an
Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental
Impact Statement is necessary for this proposed
rule.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (Pub. L. 104-4)
Public Law 104-4 requires consultation with State and local
officials and Indian tribal governments. This
proposed rule does not impose an unfunded
mandate or any other requirement on State,
local, or tribal governments. Accordingly, these
programs are not subject to the
provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
Executive Order 12630
This Order requires careful evaluation of governmental
actions that interfere with constitutionally
protected property rights. This proposed rule
would not interfere with any property rights
and, therefore, does not need to be evaluated on
the basis of the criteria outlined in Executive
Order 12630.
Government Paperwork Elimination Act
FAS is committed to compliance with the Government Paperwork
Elimination Act, which requires Government
agencies, in general, to provide the public the
option of submitting information or transacting
business electronically to the maximum extent
possible.
Background
The proposed rule at 7 CFR part 6 would revise the
Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota
Licensing regulation in effect since October 9,
1996, by suspending the provisions with respect
to the reduction of historical licenses based on
surrenders of unused amounts.
Import licensing is one of the tools the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) uses to administer the
tariff-rate quota (TRA) system for U.S. imports
of dairy products. TRQs
replaced strictly quantitative import quotas for
dairy products on January 1,
1995, as a result of the Uruguay Round Agreement
on Agriculture and the Uruguay Round Agreements
Act.
Under these TRQs, a low tariff rate, called the in-quota
rate, applies to imports up to a specified
quantity. A higher tariff rate called the
over-quota rate, applies to any imports in
excess of that
amount. TRQ rates and quantities vary by
product.
For dairy products subject to TRQs, a
license issued by the Foreign Agricultural
Service (FAS) is generally required to import
products at the in-quota rate. No license is
required to import products at the over-quota
rate.
Under the historical license reductions provisions, the
amount of the license issued by FAS is reduced
if the importer surrenders more than 50 percent
of the license during either three consecutive
years or at least three out of five consecutive
years. Specifically, section
6.25(b)(1)(i) provides that beginning with the
1999 quota year, if a licensee has surrendered
more than 50 percent of a historical license in
each of the three prior years, that license will
be permanently reduced to the average amount
entered during those three years. Section
6.25(b)(1)(ii) provides that beginning with the
quota year 2001, if a licensee surrenders more
than 50 percent of a historical license in at
least three out of the five prior years, that
license will be
permanently reduced to the average amount
entered during those five years. These
provisions are intended to provide a strong
incentive for companies with historical licenses
to utilize their licenses.
The current regulation permitted the Secretary of Agriculture
to suspend the historical license reduction
provisions applicable prior to 1999. In 1998,
the Secretary published a notice in the Federal
Register suspending these provisions for five
years, thereby delaying their implementation
until 2004. The provisions were suspended in
order to "provide adequate time for historical
licensees of European Union (EU) cheeses to
adjust to changing market conditions; to find
alternative suppliers of cheese in the EU; and
to develop new markets to enable importers to
fully utilize their historical licenses for EU
cheese.'' FAS also noted: "The suspension is
consistent with the intent of the U.S.-EU
Uruguay Round bilateral agreement on maximizing
utilization of U.S. licenses for EU cheese.''
However, current market conditions have again prompted the
need for a temporary suspension of the
historical license reduction provisions. The
production of certain cheeses in the EU,
particularly Swiss cheese, has declined
primarily due to a reduction in subsidies. Other
cheeses,
particularly processed Gruyere cheese, have
declined in production primarily due to a change
in consumer preferences and market demand. And
finally, production of industrial grade low-fat
cheeses has declined precipitously due to a
switch to more profitable, consumer-oriented
cheeses. Additionally, the expansion of the EU
from 15 to 27 countries has diminished the
availability of milk for cheese production and
reduced availability of cheese for export.
This temporary suspension is intended to improve program
administration and reflect changes in the
markets for cheese and other dairy
products subject to import licensing
requirements. The historical licenses provide
for orderly importation of a wide variety of
cheeses and permit companies to invest in market
development with some assurance of future
ability to provide specific types of cheese.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 6
Agricultural commodities, Cheese, Dairy
products, Imports, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons described in the preamble, the Department of
Agriculture proposes to amend 7 CFR part 6 as
follows:
PART 6--IMPORT QUOTAS AND FEES
1. The authority citation for part 6 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: Sec. 8, 65 Stat. 75; 19 U.S.C. 1365.
2. Section 6.25 is amended by revising paragraphs (b)(1)(i)
and
(ii) to read as follows:
Sec. 6.25 Allocation of Licenses
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(1) * * *
(i) Beginning with the 2012 quota year, a person who has
surrendered more than 50 percent of such
historical license in each of the prior three
quota years will thereafter be issued a license
in an amount equal to the average annual
quantity entered during those three quota years;
and
(ii) Beginning with the 2014 quota year, a person who has
surrendered more than 50 percent of such
historical license in at least three of the
prior five quota years will thereafter be issued
a license in an amount equal to the average
annual quantity entered during those five quota
years.
Dated: September 14, 2007.
Michael W. Yost,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service
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