. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/USA/1748 
3 January 2008  
 (08-0022) 
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) of the US 
Department of Agriculture 
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):  Ya pears and Sand pears 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable :  China, 
Japan and Republic of Korea 
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:  Importation of Fruits and 
Vegetables (available in English, 4 pages) 
6. Description of content:  The Animal and Plant Health Insp ection Service is proposing to 
amend the regulations pertaining to the importa tion of fruits and vegetables to eliminate a 
treatment requirement for Ya pears imported from Shandong Province, China; to clarify the 
conditions that apply to the importation of Sand pears from the Republic of Korea and Japan; 
and to clarify the distinction between plant parts that would be considered to be plant litter or 
debris and those that would not.  These pr oposed changes would eliminate a treatment 
requirement that no longer appears to be necessary and would clarify some existing 
provisions in order to make the regulatio ns easier to understand and implement.  
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:    
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 :   
11 December 2007 (Volume 72, Number 237), Pa ges 70237-70238;  Available in English. 
Available at Federal Register on-line via GPO Access website:   
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html  
Enter page # under "Quick Search" and link to relevant document. G/SPS/N/USA/1748 
Page 2  
 
  10. Proposed date of adoption:  N/A 
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  N/A 
12. Final date for comments:   10 January 2008  
Comments in general will be accepted at anyt ime after publication of the notice of filing; 
however, if a final rule is promulgated, it will address only those comments that were 
received prior to publication of the final rule. 
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [ X ] National notification 
authority, [ X ] National enquiry point, or  address, fax number and E-mail address (if 
available) of other body: 
For further information contact:  
Mr. Alex Belano, Import Specialist, Commod ity Import Analysis and Operation, PPQ, 
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737– 1231; +(301) 734-5333 
13. Texts available from:  [ X ] National notifica tion authority, [ X ] National 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