. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/USA/1307/Add.2 
8 August 2007  
 (07-3358) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION  
 
Addendum
 
 
 
The following communication, received on 2 Augus t 2007, is being circulated at the request 
of the Delegation of United States . 
 
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Final rule:  Revision of Fruits and Vegetables Import Regulations 
 
 
APHIS is revising and reorganizing the regulati ons pertaining to the importation of fruits and 
vegetables to consolidate requirements of general applicability and eliminate redundant requirements, 
update terms and remove outdated re quirements and references, update  the regulations that apply to 
importations into territories under U.S. administra tion, and make various editorial and nonsubstantive 
changes to regulations to make them easier to use.   APHIS is also making substantive changes to the 
regulations, including:  establishing criteria that, if  met, will allow APHIS to approve certain new 
fruits and vegetables for importation into the Un ited States and to acknowledge pest-free areas in 
foreign countries more effectively and expeditiously and doing away with the practice of listing in the 
regulations specific commodities that may be impor ted subject to certain types of phytosanitary 
measures.  These changes are intended to simplify and expedite APHIS processes for approving certain new imports and pest-free ar eas while continuing to allow for full public participation in the 
processes.  This rule revises the structure of the fruits and vegetables import regulations and establishes a new process for approving certain new commodities for importation into the United 
States. It does not, however, allow the importation of any specific new fruits or vegetables, nor does it 
alter the conditions for importing currently appr oved fruits or vegetables except as specifically 
described in this document.  To the extent that APHI S’s trading partners consider the length of time it 
takes to conduct the rulemaking process a trade barri er, these changes may facilitate the export of US 
agricultural commodities by reducing that time for fruits  and vegetables that meet this rule's criteria.  
The changes do not alter the manner in which the ri sk associated with a commodity import request is 
evaluated, nor do they alter the manner in which those risks are ultimately mitigated. 
 
This regulation is effective 17 August 2007.   
 
The full text of this addendum (final rule) can be found at the address below. 
 
Federal Register: 18 July 2007 (Volume 72, Number 137, Pages 39482-39528 
(available in English)  
Available at Federal Register on-line via GPO Access website: 
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html
 
Enter page 39482 under “Quick Search ” and link to relevant document. G/SPS/N/USA/1307/Add.2 
Page 2  
 
  In the Federal Register of 27 April 2006 (71 FR 25010-25057, Docket No. APHIS-2005-
0106), APHIS solicited comments on the proposal for 60 days ending on July 26, 2006. On August 1, 2006, APHIS published a document in the Federal Register (71 FR 43385, Docket No. APHIS-2005-
0106) reopening the comment period for our proposed rule until 25 August 2006.  APHIS received 49 
comments by the close of the extended comment period.  
 
APHIS has changed the proposed rule.  They have: established a notice-based approach for 
pest-free areas, added "commercial consignments onl y" as one of the measures eligible for the notice-
based approach, removed proposed requirements that  would have provided for the issuance of special 
use permits, and made several ot her nonsubstantive editorial and technical changes to the proposed 
rule. 
  United States SPS National Notification Authority, US DA Foreign Agricultural Service, International 
Regulations and Standards Division (IRSD), Stop 1027, Washington D.C. 20250;  Tel:  +(1 202) 720-
1301;  Fax:  +(1 202) 690-0677;  E-ma il:  us.spsenquirypoint@fas.usda.gov 
  
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