. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/USA/1770 
15 February 2008  
 (08-0682) 
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:  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
3. Products covered (provide tariff item numb er(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  Corn, bean, sugarcane, soybean, sorghum, potato, hop, wheat, coffee 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable :  Any 
US trade partners 
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:  PROPOSED RULE: 
2,4-D, Bensulide, DCPA, Desmedipham, Dime thoate, Fenamiphos, Phorate, Sethoxydim, 
Terbufos, and Tetrachlorvinphos; Proposed To lerance Actions (avail able in English, 
13 pages) 
6. Description of content:  Through this proposed rule:  
EPA proposes decreasing the tolerances for phora te residues of concern in/on bean; corn, 
sweet, kernel plus cob with husks removed; corn, grain; sorghum, grain; soybean; and 
sugarcane, cane from 0.1 to 0.05 ppm; and potato from 0.5 to 0.2 ppm. 
EPA is proposing to increase the tolerances for phorate residues of concern in/on hop from 
0.5 to 2.0 ppm.  The Agency determined that the increased tolerances are safe; i.e. there is a reasonable certainty that no ha rm will result from aggreg ate exposure to the pesticide 
chemical residue. 
EPA proposes revising the tolerance expression to regulate the combin ed residues of the 
insecticide phorate (O,O-diethyl S[(ethylthio ) methyl]phosphorodithioate), phorate sulfoxide, 
phorate sulfone, phorate oxygen analog, phorat e oxygen analog sulfoxide, and phorate 
oxygen analog sulfone. 
EPA proposes establishing a tolerance for the combined residues  of phorate and its 
cholinesterase-inhibiting me tabolites in/on wheat, forage at 1.5 ppm.  The Agency determined 
that the increased tolerances are safe; i.e. ther e is a reasonable certainty that no harm will 
result from aggregate exposure to th e pesticide chemical residue. 
EPA proposes revising the tolerances for th e combined residues of phorate and its 
cholinesterase- inhibiting metabo lites from bean to bean, dry, seed and bean, succulent; 
coffee, bean, green to coffee, green bean; corn, fo rage to corn, field, forage and corn, sweet, 
forage; corn, grain to corn, field, grain; hop to  hop, dried cones; sorghum, grain to sorghum, 
grain, grain; and soybean to soybean, seed; and revise the footnote to  There are no US 
registrations as of 1 Septem ber 1993, for the use of phorate on the growing crop, coffee. G/SPS/N/USA/1770 
Page 2  
 
  7. Objective and rationale:  [ X ] food safety, [   ] animal health,  [ X ] plant protection, 
[ X ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease,  [   ] protect territory from other damage from pests    
8. International standard, guideline or recommendation:  
[ X ] 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:  The proposed tolerance actions herein for 
phorate, to implement the recommendations of the phorate IRED, reflect use patterns in the 
United States which s upport a different tolerance than the Codex level on beans, beets, coffee 
beans, because of differ ences in good agricultural practices.  However, compa tibility currently 
exists between US toleran ces and Codex MRLs for cotto nseed and will exist (upon 
completion of this action) for phorate residues in  or on potato, sorghum grain, soybean seed, 
field and sweet corn/maize. 
9. Relevant documents and language (s) in which these are available:   F e d e r a l  R e g i s t e r :   
6 February 2008 (Volume 73, Number 25) Proposed Rules Page 6867-6879; 
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-P EST/2008/February/Day-06/p2094.htm  
10. Proposed date of adoption:  N/A 
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  This is a proposed rule which may or may not result in 
further regulatory action. 
12. Final date for comments:  Comments must be received on or before 7 April 2008, and may 
be identified by docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-0674. 
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: 
Registration Division, (7505P), Office of Pe sticide Programs, Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001 
13. Texts available from:  [ X ] National notificati on authority, [   ] Na tional enquiry point, 
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body: 
United States SPS National Notification Aut hority, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, 
International Regulations and Standards Division (IRSD), Stop 1027, Washington D.C. 
20250;  Tel:  +(1 202) 720-1301;  Fa x:  +(1 202) 690-0677;  E-mail:  
us.spsenquirypoint@fas.usda.gov