. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/USA/1307 
9 May 2006 
 (06-2260) 
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:  U.S. Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service-APHIS  
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):  Fruits and vegetables  
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:  Trading 
partners  
5. Title, language and number of p ages of the notified document:  Revision of Fruits and 
Vegetables Import Regulations; Proposed Rule.  
6. Description of content:  The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is 
proposing to amend the regulations governing the importation of fruits and vegetables to 
consolidate requirements of general appli cability and eliminate redundant requirements, 
update terms and remove outdated requirements and references, update the regulations that 
apply to importations into territories under U. S. administration, and make various editorial 
and non-substantive changes to the regulations including:  establishing criteria within the 
regulations that, if met, would allow APHIS to  approve certain new fruits and vegetables for 
importation into the United States and to acknow ledge pest free areas in foreign countries 
more effectively and expeditiously;  and provi ding for the issuance of special use permits 
for fruits and vegetables.  These changes ar e intended to simplify and expedite our 
processes for approving certain types of phyt osanitary measures;  and providing for the 
issuance of special use permits for fruits and vegetables.  This proposal, if adopted would 
represent a significant structural revision of the fruit and vegetables import regulations and 
would establish a new process for approving certain new commodities for importation into the United States.  
7. Objective and rationale: [   ] food safety,  [   ] animal health,  [ X ] plant protection, 
[   ] protect humans from animal/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,  [ X ] None 
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate 
reference and briefly identify deviations:   G/SPS/N/USA/1307 
Page 2  
 
  9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  Federal Register: 
27 April 2006 (Volume 71, Number 81) [Pages 25010–25057] http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/24 22/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/06-
3897.htm  
Available in English  
10. Proposed date of adoption:  To be announced  
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  To be announced  
12. Final date for comments:  26 July 2006, please refer to Docket No-APHIS 2005-0106.  
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:   
Deborah Thompson, Acting United States SPS Enquiry Point Officer, Food Safety and 
Technical Services Division, USDA/ Foreign Agricultural Service Telephone:  202 720-9124;  Fax:  202 720-9124;  fstsd@fas.usda.gov
 
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National noti fication authority, [ X ] National enquiry 
point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:   
Deborah Thompson, Acting United States SPS Enquiry Point Officer, Food Safety and 
Technical Services Division, USDA/ Foreign Agricultural Service Telephone:  202 720-
9124;  Fax:  202 720-9124;  fstsd@fas.usda.gov