[Federal Register: December 20, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 245)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 77940-77942]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20de02-11]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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[[Page 77940]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 319
[Docket No. 02-084-1]
Removal of Cold Treatment Requirement for Ya Pears Imported From
Hebei Province in China
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: We are proposing to remove the current cold treatment
requirement for Ya pears imported from Hebei Province in the People's
Republic of China. The cold treatment requirement was imposed to ensure
that Ya pears did not introduce the Oriental fruit fly into the United
States. The People's Republic of China has submitted data indicating
that no Oriental fruit flies have been found in Hebei Province since
the beginning of 1997 and has requested that we remove the cold
treatment requirement. Removing the cold treatment requirement would
lift a restriction that no longer appears necessary.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
February 18, 2003.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery
or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send
four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket
No. 02-084-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station
3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state
that your comment refers to Docket No. 02-084-1. If you use e-mail,
address your comment to regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Your comment must
be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files.
Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No.
02-084-1'' on the subject line.
You may read any comments that we receive on this docket in our
reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 of the USDA
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue, SW., Washington,
DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you,
please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Inder P. Gadh, Import Specialist,
Phytosanitary Issues Management Team, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit
140, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-6799.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in ``Subpart--Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR 319.56
through 319.56-8, referred to below as the regulations) prohibit or
restrict the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United
States from certain parts of the world to prevent the introduction and
spread of plant pests that are new to or not widely distributed within
the United States.
Section 319.56-2ee of the regulations sets out the conditions for
importing Ya variety pears produced in approved growing areas in the
Hebei and Shadong Provinces of the People's Republic of China. The
safeguards specified in the regulations include growing the pears in
registered orchards only, field inspections for pests during the
growing season, applying pesticides to reduce the pest populations,
bagging the pears on the trees, and inspecting the fruit after the
harvest. In addition, the regulations require that the Ya pears undergo
cold treatment for Oriental fruit fly in accordance with the Plant
Protection and Quarantine Treatment Manual, which is incorporated by
reference at 7 CFR 300.1.
The Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), is a
destructive pest of citrus and other types of fruits, nuts, and
vegetables. The short life cycle of the Oriental fruit fly allows rapid
population expansion; thus, outbreaks can cause severe economic losses.
Heavy infestations can cause complete loss of crops. Oriental fruit fly
is prevalent throughout tropical Asia, including parts of the People's
Republic of China. It does not, however, thrive in cold climates.
In March 2000, the People's Republic of China submitted fruit fly
trapping data for 1997 through 1999 that showed no occurrence of
Oriental fruit fly in Hebei Province. Further data have continued to
indicate that Oriental fruit fly is not present in Hebei Province.
(More information about these data may be obtained from the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.) Based on these negative
findings, the People's Republic of China has requested that we remove
the cold treatment requirement for Ya pears from Hebei Province. We
have determined that these negative findings are sufficient proof that
Oriental fruit fly is not present in Hebei Province. In addition, the
cool climate of Hebei Province, which is comparable to that of
Pennsylvania in the United States, does not favor the development of
Oriental fruit fly. Therefore, we propose to allow Ya pears from Hebei
Province to be imported into the United States without cold treatment.
As noted, Ya pears may also be imported from Shadong Province under
the regulations in Sec. 319.56-2ee. We would continue to require that
Ya pears from Shadong Province be cold treated, as China has not
offered evidence demonstrating that Oriental fruit fly is not present
in Shadong Province. If, in the future, China provides sufficient
evidence to show that Oriental fruit fly is not present in Shadong
Province, we would consider removing the cold treatment requirement for
Ya pears produced in Shadong Province. Therefore, we propose to amend
Sec. 319.56-2ee (b) to indicate that only pears from Shadong Province
would be required to undergo cold treatment before importation into the
United States.
We also propose to amend Sec. 319.56-2ee (c), which currently
indicates that each shipment of pears must be accompanied by a
phytosanitary certificate issued by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture
stating that the conditions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of Sec. 319.56-
2ee have been met. Because Ya
[[Page 77941]]
pears imported from Hebei Province will no longer be subject to the
conditions in Sec. 319.56-2ee (b), we propose to amend Sec. 319.56-
2ee (c) to simply state that the phytosanitary certificate must state
that the conditions of the section as a whole have been met.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866.
The rule has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of
Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the
Office of Management and Budget.
This proposed rule would remove the cold treatment requirement for
Ya pears imported from Hebei Province in the People's Republic of
China. This proposal is in response to data from the plant protection
organization of the People's Republic of China indicating that Oriental
fruit fly does not occur in Hebei Province and the fact that climatic
conditions do not favor the establishment of Oriental fruit fly in
Hebei Province.
The rapid growth in Ya pear imports by the United States from China
is evident in Table 1. Imports increased from about 329,000 kilograms
in 1998 to over 6.57 million kilograms in 2001. The estimated cost
savings discussed in this analysis are based on the import quantity and
value for 2001.
Table 1.--Ya Variety Pear Imports From China
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Price
Quantity Value (dollars
(kilograms) (millions per
of dollars) kilogram)
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1998............................. 328,818 $0.328 $1.00
1999............................. 2,097,863 2.011 0.96
2000............................. 5,264,099 3.746 0.71
2001............................. 6,573,113 3.559 0.54
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Source: World Trade Atlas, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of the
Census. Harmonized Tariff Schedule code 080820.
We expect that removing the cold treatment requirement for Ya pears
imported from Hebei Province would reduce shipping costs. The magnitude
of the reduction would depend on transport costs with and without the
cold treatment requirement. While refrigeration costs would still be
borne by importers in the absence of the cold treatment requirement,
the costs required to maintain, monitor, and report cold treatment
temperatures during transport would all be saved.
The cold treatment schedule for Ya pears from China, as specified
in the Plant Protection and Quarantine Treatment Manual, is T107-f. The
number of days required for cold treatment en route under the
schedule--10 to 14 days, depending on the treatment temperature--is
less than the number of days it takes to ship Ya pears to the United
States from China. No reduction in shipping time, and thus no
associated cost savings, is expected to result from the proposed
removal of the cold treatment requirement.
A recent analysis of cold treatment requirements for the
Mediterranean fruit fly at U.S. ports, used here as a proxy for cold
treatment costs en route, indicated a cost of 50 cents per day per
pallet.\1\ Most of this expense is the cost of refrigeration. Under the
proposed rule, Ya pears from Hebei Province would still be refrigerated
while en route to the United States, although not to cold treatment
specifications. For this analysis, it is assumed that the savings from
not having to meet cold treatment requirements would be 25 cents per
day per pallet. This amount probably exceeds the actual savings that
would be realized, providing an upper-bound approximation of potential
effects.
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\1\ Analysis for APHIS Docket 02-071-1, published in the Federal
Register on October 15, 2002 (67 FR 63529-63536).
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Assuming that boxing and pallet loading capacities are similar to
those of domestic pears, a box of Ya pears would contain about 20
kilograms and a pallet would contain 49 boxes.\2\ Assuming further a
14-day cold treatment period, the longest specified in the cold
treatment regimen, the cost of cold treatment would be about 36 cents
per 100 kilograms, or 0.36 cents per kilogram.\3\ As shown in Table 1,
the average price of Ya pears has steadily fallen since imports began
in 1998. Even so, estimated savings from not having to meet cold
treatment requirements represent less than 1 percent of the 2001 price
of 54 cents per kilogram. In addition, pears from Shadong Province
would be unaffected by the proposed change, further dampening the total
cost effect in the United States.
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\2\ The packing measure used for pears is four-fifths of a
bushel, which corresponds to about 42 to 45 pounds. (Kevin Moffett,
Pear Bureau, personal communication.)
\3\ (Twenty-five cents per day per pallet) x (14 days per
treatment) = $3.50 per pallet per treatment. (Twenty kilograms per
box) x (49 boxes per pallet) = 980 kilograms per pallet. ($3.50) /
(980 kilograms) = $0.00357/kg.
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Ya pears are not produced in the United States, and Ya pears are
not a substitute for domestically produced pears. Thus, this proposed
rule is not expected to affect the U.S. domestic pear industry.
Economic Effects on Small Entities
Under the criteria established by the Small Business
Administration, fruit importers (North American Industry Classification
System code 422480, ``Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers'') must
have 100 or fewer employees to be considered small entities. At least
some U.S. importers of Ya pears from Hebei Province in China may be
small entities, but the expected economic effect of no longer needing
to meet cold treatment requirements is minor.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12988
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
Civil Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is adopted: (1) All State
and local laws and regulations that are inconsistent with this rule
will be preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will be given to this
rule; and (3) administrative proceedings will not be required before
parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This proposed rule contains no new information collection or
recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Further, this proposed rule would reduce
information collection or recordkeeping requirements in Sec. 319.56-
2ee.
[[Page 77942]]
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319
Bees, Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Honey, Imports, Logs, Nursery Stock,
Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Rice, Vegetables.
Accordingly, we propose to amend 7 CFR part 319 as follows:
PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES
1. The authority citation for part 319 would be revised to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7711-7714, 7718, 7731, 7732, and 7751-
7754; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
2. In Sec. 319.56-2ee, paragraphs (b) and (c) would be revised to
read as follows:
Sec. 319.56-2ee Administrative instructions: Conditions governing the
entry of Ya variety pears from China.
* * * * *
(b) Treatment. Pears from Shadong Province must be cold treated for
Bactrocera dorsalis in accordance with the Plant Protection and
Quarantine Treatment Manual, which is incorporated by reference at
Sec. 300.1 of this chapter.
(c) Each shipment of pears must be accompanied by a phytosanitary
certificate issued by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture stating that
the conditions of this section have been met.
* * * * *
Done in Washington, DC, this 17th day of December, 2002.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-32056 Filed 12-19-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P