WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/USA/1805 
28 May 2008  
 (08-2481) 
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):  Cereal grain, cotton, rape seed, canola seed, cattle, goats, hogs, horses, sheep, 
barley, sorghum, oat, wheat, corn, buckwheat, millet, rice, rye, teosinte, triticale, wild rice, sunflower, safflower 
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:  
Benfluralin, Carbaryl, Diazinon, Dicrotophos , Fluometuron, Formetan ate Hydrochloride, 
Glyphosate, Metolachlor, Napropamide, Norf lurazon, Pyrazon, and Tau-Fluvalinate;  
Proposed Tolerance Actions (avail able in English, 16 pages) 
6. Description of content:  This notification announces a pr oposed rule that existing EPA 
tolerances for residues of glyphosate hydrochlor ide in or on the following commodity(ies) be 
established at or changed to the following values in parts per million (ppm), or be eliminated, as indicated below:  
The Agency proposed changes in tolerances fo r glyphosate in the Federal Register notice 
published on 7 June 2006 (71 FR 32899) (FRL-8062 -7), which include harmonization with 
some Codex tolerances.  The Agency receiv ed public comment from Monsanto Company 
generally agreeing with the proposed tolerance changes for glyphosate.  However, Monsanto 
alerted the Agency of more recent changes to glyphosate MRLs finalized by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission in July of 2006.  Mo nsanto provided a detail ed list of suggested 
changes to the US tolerances established on gl yphosate to achieve bett er alignment with the 
newly established Codex MRLs.  In response to this comment, th e Agency agreed to consider 
Monsanto's recommendations for harmonization with Codex in a future proposal.  The 
Agency has now determined that the follow ing commodities can be harmonized with Codex 
MRLs:  Cereal grain crop group 15, cotton seed , corn (maize), rapeseed, canola seed, and 
liver and kidney commodities of cattle, goats, hogs, horses and sheep. 
The current tolerance for residues of glyphosate in or on "grain, cereal, group 15" is 0.1 parts 
per million (ppm), but excludes the major crop gr ains barley, field corn, grain sorghum, oat 
and wheat, and covers the minor crop grains buc kwheat, millet, popcorn, rice, rye, sweet corn, 
teosinte, triticale, and wild rice.  Individual tolerances cu rrently exist for barley, grain 
(20 ppm); corn, field, grain (1.0 ppm); sorghum,  grain, grain (15 ppm); oat, grain (20 ppm); 
and wheat, grain (5.0 ppm). G/SPS/N/USA/1805 
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   EPA proposes to amend toleranc es for glyphosate in/on "grain, cereal, group 15, except 
barley, field corn, sorghum, oat and wheat" to  "grain, cereal, group 15, except field corn, 
popcorn, rice, sweet corn and ri ce, wild" and increase the tole rance to 30 ppm; and to revoke 
the individual tolerances for ba rley, grain at 20 ppm; oat, grai n at 20 ppm; sorghum, grain, 
grain at 15 ppm; wheat, grain at 5 ppm; wheat middlings at 20 ppm; wheat, shorts at 20 ppm; 
and wheat, bran at 20 ppm; and establish indi vidual tolerances for corn, sweet, grain at 
0.1 ppm; corn, pop, grain at 0.1 ppm; rice, gr ain at 0.1 ppm; rice, wild at 0.1 ppm; and 
increase the tolerance for corn, fi eld, grain from 1 ppm to 5 ppm. 
EPA proposes increasing the tolerances for the glyphosate residues of concern in/on cotton, 
undelinted seed from 35 ppm to 40 ppm; rapese ed, seed from 10 ppm to 20 ppm; canola, seed 
from 10 ppm to 20 ppm; and revoking rapeseed, meal at 15 ppm and canola, meal at 15 ppm. 
EPA proposes revoking tolera nces residues of glyphosate in or on cattle, kidney at 4.0 ppm; 
cattle, liver at 0.5 ppm; goat, kidney at 4.0 pp m; goat, liver at 0.5 ppm; horse, kidney at 
4.0 ppm; horse, liver at 0.5 ppm; sheep, kidne y at 4.0 ppm; sheep, liver at 0.5 ppm; hog, 
kidney at 4.0 ppm; and hog, liver at 0.5 ppm;  and establish tolerances for cattle, meat 
byproducts at 5 ppm; goat, meat  byproducts at 5 ppm; horse, meat byproducts at 5 ppm; 
sheep, meat byproducts at 5 ppm; a nd hog, meat byproducts at 5 ppm. 
EPA proposes to correct errors by revoking the incorrect tolerances for sunflower, seed at 
0.1 ppm; safflower, seed at 0.1 ppm; and "v egetable, legume, group 6 except soybean" at 
5.0 ppm; and correcting the terminology for su nflower to "sunflower, seed" at 85 ppm and 
safflower to "safflower, seed" at 85 ppm.  
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 id entify deviations:  There are a number of Codex MRLs for 
glyphosate for which harmonization with a US tolera nce is not possible at this time.  In the 
case of fodder, hay and/or straw commodities of al falfa, barley, bean, gras ses, maize, oat, pea, 
sorghum, and wheat, the US tolerances are de termine on a "wet weight" basis where as the 
Codex MRLs are determined on a "dry weight" ba sis, and are, therefore, not comparable.  
Sugarcane molasses, having a US tolerance for glyphosate of 30 ppm, could not be 
harmonized to the lower Codex MRL of 10 ppm due to the concentration of the glyphosate 
residues demonstrated by processing data.  Some US glyphosate tole rances could not be 
harmonized because the Code x MRL is based on the indi vidual commodity and the 
US tolerance is a crop group tolerance (e.g. vegetable, legume, group 6, except soybean) 
which is higher to cover all commodities in th e group.  The US tolerance for glyphosate in/on 
banana could not be lowered to harmonize with Codex due to differi ng use patterns. 
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 :   
21 May 2008 (Volume 73, Number 99)  Proposed Rules Page 29456-29471; 
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/E PA-PEST/2008/May/Day-21/p11420.htm  
10. Proposed date of adoption:  N/A  G/SPS/N/USA/1805 
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  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 21 July 2008, and may 
be identified by docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-1170. 
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;  Fax:  +(1 202) 720 0433;  E-mail:  
us.spsenquirypoint@fas.usda.gov