WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/USA/937 
20 July 2004 
 (04-3119) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
   
NOTIFICATION  
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   UNITED STATES
 
If applicable, name of local government involved: 
2. Agency responsible:   Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Food 
Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), USDA;   and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 
HHS. 
3. Products covered (provide tariff item numbe r(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  Beef cattle intended for sla ughter and use as human food;   Ruminants, 
Ruminant Products, Animal Feed 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected , to the extent relevant or practicable:  
Trading partners  
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:   Federal Measures To 
Mitigate BSE Risks:  Considerations for Furt her Action;  Proposed Rule;  Advance notice 
of proposed rulemaking; invitation to comme nt (Available in English, 14 pages). 
6. Description of content:  The Secretary of Agriculture c onvened an international panel of 
experts on BSE to review the US response to the Washington case and make 
recommendations that could provide meaningf ul additional public or animal health 
benefits.  The purpose of this advance noti ce of proposed rulemaking is to inform the 
public about the panel's recommendations and to solicit comment on additional measures 
under consideration based on those reco mmendations and other considerations. 
The agencies are curr ently considering additional safe guards based on recommendations of 
an international review team  convened by the Secretary of Agriculture and on other 
considerations. The purpose of this advance not ice of proposed rulemaking is to inform the 
public about the report and recommendations of th e international review team and to solicit 
public comment on the additional measures under consideration. 
7. Objective and rationale:  [ X ] food safety, [ X ] animal health, [   ] plant protection, 
[ X ] protect humans from anima l/plant pest or disease,  [   ]  protect territory from 
other damage from pests 
8. International standard, guideline or recommendation:  
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [   ] World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE), [   ] International Plant Protection Convention, [   ] None  
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate 
reference and briefly identify deviations:  G/SPS/N/USA/937 
Page 2  
 
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking in the Federal Register  (FR), Vol. 69 No. 134, pages 42287- 42300 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ ppd/rad/webre por/all.html
 
http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/ DOCKETS/98fr/04-15882.pdf  
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getd oc.cgi?dbname=2004_regis ter&docid=fr14jy04-
16 (available in English) 
10. Proposed date of adoption:   Not available 
11. Proposed date of entry into force:   Not available 
12. Final date for comments:  APHIS and FSIS will consider all comments received on or 
before 13 September 2004.  FDA will consid er all comments received on or before 13 
August 2004. 
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [   ] National notification 
authority, [ X ] National enquiry point, or  address, fax number and E-mail address (if 
available) of other body:    
Submit written comments to APHIS  by: 
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:  Please send four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 04-047-1, Regulatory Analysis and Developmen t, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 
River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.  Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 04-047-1. 
Electronic comments to APHIS can be submitted by 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. 04-047-1"' on the subject line.  
Submit written comments to FSIS  by: 
Mail, including floppy disks or CD-ROM's, and hand-or courier-delivered items:  Send to 
Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of Agri culture, Food Safety and Inspection Service,
300 12th Street, SW., Room 102 Cotton Annex, Washington, DC 20250. 
All submissions received must include the Agency name and Docket No. 04-021ANPR. 
Electronic comments for FSIS can be submitted by Federal eR ulemaking Portal:  Go to 
http://www.regulations.gov
.  Follow the online instructions at that site for submitting 
comments.  Instructions:  All submissions received must include the Agency name and 
Docket No. 04-021ANPR.  
Submit written comments to FDA  by any of the following methods: 
Mail/hand delivery/courier (for paper,  disc, or CD-ROM submissions): 
Division of Dockets Management (HFA -305), Food and Drug Administration, 
5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. All submissions must include the Agency name and Docket No. 2004N-0264 or Regulatory 
Identification No. (RIN) 0910-AF46. 
Electronic comments to FDA can be submitted by e-mail:  fdadockets@oc.fda.gov
. by 
including Docket no. 2004N-0264 or Regulatory Identification No. (RIN) 0910-AF46;  by Federal eRulmaking Portal:  http://www.regulations.gov
 by following instructions;  and by 
Agency website:  http://www.fda.gov/dockets/comments  by following instructions.  G/SPS/N/USA/937 
 Page 3 
 
 
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National notificati on authority, [ X ] National enquiry point, 
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:   U.S. Enquiry 
Point, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Stop 1027, Washington, DC 20250.  Tel (202) 720-0677, fstsd@usda.gov
. 
Complete text can also be found on the Internet at: 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor/all.html  OR 
http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/ DOCKETS/98fr/04-15882.pdf