. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/USA/752
4 July 2003
(03-3582)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   UNITED STATES
If applicable, name of local government involved:
2. Agency responsible:   Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where
applicable):  Products that use the pesticide Acetic Acid when used as a grain and hay
preservative on agricultural commodities such as alfalfa, barley grain, Bermuda grass,
bluegrass, brome grass, clover, corn grain, cowpea hay, fescue, lespedeza, lupines, oatgrain, orchard grass, peanut grass, Timothy, vetch, wheat rain, cottonseed, peanuts, rice
grain, and soybeans residues in or on meat, and meat by-products:  Cattle, sheep, hogs,
goats, horses, and poultry, milk, and eggs when applied as a bactericide/fungicide to
livestock drinking water, poultry litter, and storage areas for silage and grain, or
commodities described as grain or hay.
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:  Any
US trading partners.
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:  Acetic Acid; Notice of
Filing a Pesticide Petition to Establish an Exemption from the Requirements of a Tolerance
for a Certain Pesticide Chemical in or on Food, available in English, 3 pages.
6. Description  of content:  EPA has received a pesticide petition (3F6516) proposing,
pursuant to section 408(d) of the FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. 346a(d), to amend 40 CFR part 180 to
establish an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for the biochemical pesticideacetic acid.  Pursuant to section 408(d)(2 )(A)(i) of the FFDCA as amended, Eastman
Chemical Company has submitted the following summary of information, data, and
arguments in support of their pesticide petition.  The summary of the petition was prepared
by the petitioner and represents the view of the petitioner.
The petition summary announces the availability of a description of the analytical methods
available to EPA for the detection and measurement of the pesticide chemical residues or
an explanation of why no such method is needed.
The petitioner proposes that the use of acetic acid as a grain and hay preservative be
granted an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance, as proposed below:
1.  Post-harvest application of acetic acid, when used as a fungicide or preservative is
exempted from the requirement of a tolerance for residues in or on the following raw
agricultural commodities:  Alfalfa, barley grain, Bermuda grass, bluegrass, bromegrass, clover, corn grain, cowpea hay, fescue, lespedeza, lupines, oat grain, orchard
grass, peanut hay, peavine hay, rye grass, sorghum grain, soybean hay, sudan grass,
Timothy, vetch, and wheat grain, or commodities described as grain or hay.G/SPS/N/USA/752
Page 2
2.  Acetic acid is exempt from the requirement of a tolerance for residues in or on
meat, and meat by-products:  Cattle, sheep, hogs, goats, horses, and poultry, milk, and
eggs when applied as a bactericide/fungicide to livestock drinking water, poultry litter,
and storage areas for silage and grain.
3.  Post-harvest application of acetic acid when used as a fungicide/preservative is
exempted from the requirement of a tolerance for residues in or on the following raw
agricultural commodities:  Cottonseed, peanuts, rice grain, and soybeans.
Noticeably, this tolerance exemption request re-establishes the same exemption
criteria as was previously granted for acetic acid for this use.
Acetic acid is currently exempt from the requirement of a tolerance when used as a
catalyst under 40 CFR 180.1001(c).  Previously, Acetic Acid was exempt from the
requirement of a tolerance (40 CFR 180.1029), when used as a preservative on theabove-mentioned commodities.  This exemption was cancelled, but only because the
registrants at that time, did not wish to maintain the registration.  Subsequent to the
cancellation of the registrations, the tolerance exemption was revoked.
7. Objective and rationale:  [  X ] food safety, [   ] animal health, [   ] plant protection,
[ X ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [   ] protect territory from other
damage from pests
8. International standard, gu ideline or recommendation:
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [   ] Office International des Epizooties,
[   ] International Plant Prot ection Convention, [ X ] None
If an international standard , guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:   not applicable
9. Relevant documents and language(s ) in which these are available:  DOCID: fr11jn03-
106, Federal Register:  11 June 2003 (Volume 68, Number 112), pages 34955-34958;
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-PEST/2003/June/Day-11/p14200.htm;  available inEnglish.
10. Proposed date of adoption:  not applicable
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  not applicable
12. Final date for comments:  11 July 2003
Agency or authority designated to handl e comments:  [ X ] National notification
authority, [   ] National enquiry point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if
available) of other body:
Public Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Information Resources and
Services Division (7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), Environmental ProtectionAgency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. opp-docket@epa.gov
Note:  Identify docket name "OPP-2003-0177" in subject line of your response.
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National notification authority,  [ X ] National enquiry point,
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
Mr. Bill Janis, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Stop 1027, Washington, DC 20250.
Tel (202) 720-9047, (202) 720-0677, fstsd@usda.gov