[Federal Register: January 10, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 6)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 1192-1195]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10ja07-21]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Part 91
[Docket No. APHIS-2006-0147]
RIN 0579-AC26
Cattle for Export; Removal of Certain Testing Requirements
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend the livestock exportation
regulations to eliminate the requirement for pre-export tuberculosis
and brucellosis testing of certain cattle being exported to countries
that do not require such testing. This action would facilitate the
exportation of certain cattle by eliminating the need to conduct pre-
export tuberculosis and brucellosis testing when the receiving country
does not require such testing.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before March
12, 2007.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov
, select ``Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service'' from the agency drop-down menu, then click ``Submit.'' In the
Docket ID column, select APHIS-2006-0147 to submit or view public
comments and to view supporting and related materials available
electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov, including
instructions for accessing documents, submitting comments, and viewing
the docket after the close of the comment period, is available through
the site's ``User Tips'' link.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. APHIS-
2006-0147, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-
03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state
that your comment refers to Docket No. APHIS-2006-0147.
Reading Room: 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
[[Page 1193]]
sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 690-2817 before
coming.
Other Information: Additional information about APHIS and its
programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Antonio Ramirez, Senior Staff
Veterinarian, Technical Trade Services, National Center for Import and
Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 40, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231;
(301) 734-8364.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in 9 CFR part 91, ``Inspection and Handling of
Livestock for Exportation'' (referred to below as the regulations),
prescribe conditions for exporting animals from the United States.
Section 91.5 requires, among other things, that cattle intended for
exportation be tested for tuberculosis and brucellosis prior to export.
Certain exceptions to the testing requirement exist. The
regulations in Sec. 91.5(a) do not require testing for tuberculosis
prior to export when cattle are being exported directly to slaughter in
a country that the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) has determined has an acceptable
tuberculosis surveillance system at slaughter plants and that agrees to
share any findings of tuberculosis in U.S. origin cattle with APHIS, or
when cattle are being exported directly to slaughter from a State
designated as an Accredited-free State in 9 CFR part 77,
``Tuberculosis.''
The regulations in Sec. 91.5(b) do not require testing for
brucellosis prior to export when cattle are being exported directly to
slaughter in a country that the Administrator has determined has an
acceptable brucellosis surveillance system at slaughter plants and that
agrees to share any findings of brucellosis in U.S. origin cattle with
APHIS, or when cattle are being exported directly to slaughter from a
State designated as a Class Free State in 9 CFR part 78,
``Brucellosis.'' Official vaccinates of dairy breeds under 20 months of
age, official vaccinates of beef breeds under 24 months of age, and
steers and spayed heifers are also exempt from the brucellosis testing
requirement.
All other cattle exported from the United States must be tested for
tuberculosis within 90 days prior to export and tested for brucellosis
within 30 days prior to export, as required by Sec. 91.3(c). The
brucellosis test may be administered at a longer interval prior to
export if the receiving country requires or allows it.
In recent years, the Cooperative State-Federal Tuberculosis
Eradication Program and the Cooperative State-Federal Brucellosis
Eradication Program have made significant progress in reducing the
occurrence of those two diseases in U.S. cattle. Currently, all States
except Minnesota and portions of Michigan and New Mexico are designated
Accredited-free for tuberculosis, and all States except Idaho and Texas
are designated Class Free States for brucellosis.
Canadian animal health authorities have recognized our success in
eradicating brucellosis, tuberculosis, and other diseases by
establishing the Restricted Feeder Cattle Program, which allows certain
untested feeder cattle to be imported into Canada.\1\ To participate in
this program, the feeder cattle must originate in a State that has been
designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as free of
brucellosis and tuberculosis. Under the program, U.S. feeder cattle
from 39 States considered to have a low incidence of bluetongue are
able to enter Canada directly without testing; feeder cattle from the
remaining 11 States, which are considered to have a high incidence of
bluetongue, are also not required to be tested, provided they reside
for at least 60 days prior to import in a low-incidence State. Testing
for cattle from such States, however, is still an option; should the
feeder cattle be found free of bluetongue, the 60-day period is
waived.\2\
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\1\ Detailed provisions of this program can be found in Canadian
Food Inspection Agency Client Services Information Sheet No. 14,
``Restricted Feeder Cattle from the United States.'' This document
can be viewed on the Internet at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/policy/ie-2001-14e.shtml
.
\2\ The Canada Food Inspection Agency published a proposal on
May 19, 2006, that would eliminate bluetongue-related restrictions
on the importation of cattle, among other animals.
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Feeder cattle that meet these conditions do not fall under any of
the exceptions in Sec. 91.5 and are still required to be tested within
30 and 90 days of export for brucellosis and tuberculosis,
respectively. Paragraph (b) of Sec. 91.3 states that the Administrator
may, upon request of the appropriate animal health official of the
country of destination, waive the tuberculosis and brucellosis tests
referred to in Sec. Sec. 91.5(a) and (b) of the regulations when he
finds such tests are not necessary to prevent the exportation of
diseased animals from the United States. However, this provision does
not allow us to relieve the testing requirement for cattle exported
under the Restricted Feeder Cattle Program, as Canadian animal health
officials would have to request each time cattle are exported that the
brucellosis and tuberculosis tests not be administered.
Canada's Restricted Feeder Cattle Program covers only cattle that
meet the requirements above, and there are no other countries that have
recognized our Accredited-free and Class Free designations for States.
However, we have recently requested that Canadian animal health
authorities recognize our Accredited-free and Class Free designations
for States and more generally relieve testing requirements for cattle
exported to Canada from those States. If Canada approves this request,
the regulations would still require U.S. exporters to administer
tuberculosis and brucellosis tests that would then not be required by
Canadian animal health regulations. A similar situation could arise if
any other country that receives U.S. cattle were to recognize our
Accredited-free for tuberculosis or Class Free for brucellosis
designations of States and suspend or eliminate any requirements that
U.S. cattle must be tested for those diseases prior to export from the
United States, because the regulations require testing in all cases
except those listed earlier in this document.
To relieve this unnecessary burden and to avoid similar problems
that may arise in the future, we are proposing to amend the regulations
to exempt cattle from tuberculosis and brucellosis testing prior to
export if such testing is not required by the receiving country for
cattle from any tuberculosis Accredited-free or brucellosis Class Free
State. This action would both relieve restrictions on certain exports
of U.S. cattle to Canada that no longer appear necessary and ensure
that, if other countries receiving exports of U.S. cattle suspend or
remove their requirements that U.S. cattle be tested for tuberculosis
or brucellosis, U.S. exporters of cattle would receive the full
benefits of no longer being required to perform such tests.
Miscellaneous Changes
In Sec. 91.1, official brucellosis vaccinate is defined as: ``A
female bovine animal vaccinated against brucellosis in accordance with
the provisions prescribed in the Recommended brucellosis Eradication
Uniform Methods and Rules, chapter 1, part I-H, I, and J. The
provisions of the Uniform Methods and Rules are hereby incorporated by
reference.'' However, ``Uniform Methods and Rules: Brucellosis
Eradication'' has not actually been incorporated by reference, and so
no explicit definition of official
[[Page 1194]]
brucellosis vaccinate currently exists in 9 CFR part 91. We are
proposing to correct this error by revising this definition to read:
``An official adult vaccinate or an official calfhood vaccinate as
defined in Sec. 78.1 of this chapter.'' The definitions in Sec. 78.1
are similar to the definitions of those terms in ``Uniform Methods and
Rules: Brucellosis Eradication,'' but contain more specific testing
requirements.
The regulations contain other references to the ``Uniform Methods
and Rules: Brucellosis Eradication.'' We are developing a proposal that
would update the regulations and harmonize them with the ``Uniform
Methods and Rules: Brucellosis Eradication.'' We will address the other
references to the ``Uniform Methods and Rules'' in the regulations with
that proposal.
In Sec. 91.5, paragraph (a)(1)(ii) states that tuberculosis tests
are not required for any cattle ``exported directly to slaughter from a
State designated as an Accredited-Free State in 9 CFR 77.1.'' The
regulations in part 77 were revised in a final rule published in the
Federal Register on October 23, 2000 (65 FR 63502-63533), and the list
of Accredited-free States for cattle and bison is now located in Sec.
77.7. We would amend Sec. 91.5(a)(1)(ii) to reflect that change.
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.
The proposed rule would remove the requirement that cattle destined
for export must be tested for brucellosis and tuberculosis prior to
export in any case in which such testing is not required by the
receiving country for cattle originating in the United States or any
State therein.
The proposed rule would affect domestic producers of cattle,
specifically those engaged in the export of animals. In 2005, there
were 982,510 cattle operations in the United States.\3\ On January 1,
2005, domestic inventory of cattle and calves totaled over 95.8
million, with an average per head value of $916, and a total value of
production of over $87.8 billion.\4\ Under U.S. Small Business
Administration's (SBA) size standards, operations engaged in cattle
ranching or production (both beef and dairy) are considered small if
they earn $750,000 or less in annual receipts.\5\ According to the
USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, approximately 953,390,
or 97 percent, of the 982,510 cattle operations in the United States
are holding fewer than 500 head of cattle. As such, we would assume
that the overwhelming majority of domestic cattle operations would be
considered small by SBA standards.
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\3\ USDA-NASS, Quick Stats U.S. & All States Data. Washington,
DC: National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2006.
\4\ USDA-NASS, Agricultural Statistics 2005.
\5\ Table of Size Standards based on North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS) 2002. Beef Cattle Ranching and
Farming: NAICS code 112111, Dairy Cattle and Milk Production: NAICS
code 112120. Washington, DC: U.S. Small Business Administration,
effective January 5, 2006.
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Only those operations engaged in the export of their animals would
be affected by this proposed rule. In 2005, the United States exported
21,155 live cattle, with a total value of over $7.2 million. Our
primary trading partners historically are Canada and Mexico, and in
2005 Canada and Mexico ranked first and second, respectively, as
destinations of U.S. live cattle exports by value.\6\ In response to
strong domestic cattle price and trade barriers related to bovine
spongiform encephalopathy and other diseases, U.S. cattle exports
declined significantly in 2003-2004, but they are now on the rebound.
The number of operations engaged in the export of cattle is unknown.
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\6\ USDA-FAS, U.S. Trade Exports-FATUS Commodity Aggregations.
Washington, DC: Foreign Agricultural Service. Based on data from the
Dept. of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics.
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Under the proposed rule, domestic cattle producers wishing to
export their animals would no longer be required to test for
tuberculosis and brucellosis prior to export when the importing
countries do not require such testing. As such, the proposed rule would
represent a reduction in compliance costs currently associated with
export requirements for live cattle. APHIS estimates the average cost
of tuberculosis testing for cattle ranges from $10 to $12 per head. In
addition, APHIS estimates the cost of an official herd blood test for
brucellosis to be $3 per animal. APHIS welcomes public comment
regarding the exact costs for tuberculosis tests and brucellosis tests
per animal. Assuming a producer located in a State that is Accredited-
free for tuberculosis and Class Free for brucellosis were to export
cattle to a country where pre-export testing requirements were
eliminated, the cost savings that the producer would capture as a
result of the proposed change to the regulations would depend on the
number of animals exported. Again, the exact number of domestic
producers whose operations depend on the export of cattle is unknown.
However, given the average per-head value of $916, the cost saved by
not having to test for tuberculosis and brucellosis prior to export is
not expected to be economically significant, as the combined cost of
the tests represents a small percentage of the per-head value of the
cattle.
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 12372
This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372,
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local
officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)
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 in conflict 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.).
List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 91
Animal diseases, Animal welfare, Exports, Livestock, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
Accordingly, we propose to amend 9 CFR part 91 as follows:
PART 91--INSPECTION AND HANDLING OF LIVESTOCK FOR EXPORTATION
1. The authority citation for part 91 would continue to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 8301-8317; 19 U.S.C. 1644a(c); 21 U.S.C.
136, 136a, and 618; 46 U.S.C. 3901 and 3902; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and
371.4.
2. In Sec. 91.1, the definition of official brucellosis vaccinate
would be revised to read as follows:
Sec. 91.1 Definitions.
* * * * *
[[Page 1195]]
Official brucellosis vaccinate. An official adult vaccinate or an
official calfhood vaccinate as defined in Sec. 78.1 of this chapter.
* * * * *
3. Section 91.5 would be amended as follows:
a. In paragraph (a)(1), by removing the word ``or'' at the end of
paragraph (a)(1)(i); by removing the citation ``9 CFR 77.1'' in
paragraph (a)(1)(ii) and adding the citation ``Sec. 77.7 of this
chapter'' in its place; by removing the period at the end of paragraph
(a)(1)(ii) and adding a semicolon in its place; and by adding new
paragraphs (a)(1)(iii) and (a)(1)(iv) to read as set forth below.
b. In paragraph (b)(1), by removing the word ``or'' at the end of
paragraph (b)(1)(iv), by removing the period at the end of paragraph
(b)(1)(v) and adding a semicolon in its place, and by adding new
paragraphs (b)(1)(vi) and (b)(1)(vii) to read as set forth below.
Sec. 91.5 Cattle.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(iii) Cattle exported to a country that does not require cattle
from the United States to be tested for tuberculosis as described in
this part; or
(iv) Cattle exported from a State designated as an Accredited-free
State in Sec. 77.7 of this chapter to a country that does not require
cattle from Accredited-free States to be tested for tuberculosis as
described in this part.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(1) * * *
(vi) Cattle exported to a country that does not require cattle from
the United States to be tested for brucellosis as described in this
part; or
(vii) Cattle exported from a State designated as a Class Free State
in Sec. 78.41 of this chapter to a country that does not require
cattle from Class Free States to be tested for brucellosis as described
in this part.
* * * * *
Done in Washington, DC, this 3rd day of January 2007.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E7-111 Filed 1-9-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P