WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SPS/N/USA/2222 
22 June 2011  
 (11-3070) 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
NOTIFICATION 
 
1. Notifying Member:  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 numbe r(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO;  ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where applicable):  Certain animals and animal products 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable: 
[X] All trading partners   
[ ] Specific regions or countries:    
5. Title of the notified document:  Proposed Rule: Lists of Regions Classified with Respect 
to Certain Animal Diseases and States Approved to Receive Certain Imported Horses (Docket No. APHIS-2009-0035)  Language(s):  English  Number of pages:  9 
6. Description of content:  The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to 
remove lists of regions classified with respect to certain animal diseases and pests from our animal and animal product impor t regulations and, instead, post them to the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS) webs ite.  The regulations would provide the web 
address and would explain APHIS criteria and process for adding a region to, or removing a 
region from, each of the lists.  The technical criteria APHIS uses to evaluate whether a region should be added to or re moved from a list would not change.  We are also proposing 
to remove lists of States approved to recei ve horses imported from foreign regions where 
we consider contagious equine metritis to ex ist and, instead, post approved States to our 
Web site.  The criteria for approving a State would not change. 
The proposed action would allow more timely changes to the lists.  This should be 
particularly useful when a region must be added to a list of regions affected with a disease.  
APHIS considers a disease to exist in a region when we receive reports of an outbreak of 
the disease in the region from veterinary officials of the national government of the region 
and/or the World Organization for Animal Hea lth (OIE), or from another source that the 
Administrator determines to be reliable; e.g., APHIS inspectors based in foreign countries.  
As now, when APHIS determines that a disease is present in a region and presents a potential threat to animal health in the Unite d States, we would take immediate action to 
restrict imports from that region.  We would no  longer need to follow that action with an 
interim rule in the Federal Register to change  text in the regulations.  Instead, we would 
immediately list the region on the APHIS website and announce the listing through a 
notice, rather than a rule, in the Federal Register.  The notice would provide an opportunity for public comment. G/SPS/N/USA/2222 
Page 2  
 
  7. Objective and rationale:  [ ] food safety, [X] animal health, [ ] plant protection, 
[ ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [ ] protect territory from other 
damage from pests.    
8. Is there a relevant international stan dard?  If so, identify the standard:  
[ ] Codex Alimentarius Commission (e.g.  title or serial number of Codex standard 
or related text)   
[ ] World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) (e.g. Terrestrial or Aquatic 
Animal Health Code, chapter number)    
[ ] International Plant Protection Convention (e.g. ISPM number)    
[X] None Does this proposed regulation conform to the relevant international standard?   
 [ ] Yes   [ ] No 
 If no, describe, whenever possible, how and why it deviates from the 
international standard:    
9. Other relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  Federal 
Register:  1 June 2011 (Volume 76, Number   105), Notices Pages 31499-31507. Available 
online in English at:  http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-06-01/html/2011-13504.htm   
10. Proposed date of adoption (dd/mm/yy) :  Not applicable 
Proposed date of publication (dd/mm/yy) :  Not applicable 
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  [ ] Six months from date of publication , and/or  
(dd/mm/yy) :  Not applicable 
[ ] Trade facilitating measure   
12. Final date for comments:  [ ] Sixty days from the date of circulation of the notification 
and/or (dd/mm/yy) :  1 August 2011 
Agency or authority designated to handl e comments:  [ ] National Notification 
Authority, [ ] National Enquiry Point.  Address, fax number and e-mail address (if 
available) of other body:   
You may submit comments by either of the following methods: 
 Federal eRulemaking Portal:  Go to http://www.regulations.gov/  and search on the 
docket number (APHIS-2009-0035) to subm it or view comments and to view 
supporting and related materials available electronically. 
 Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:  Please send two copies of your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2009-0035, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. 
Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. APHIS-2009-0035 
For further information contact: Dr. Laurel Vo elker, Regional Evaluation Services--Import, 
National Center for Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 920 Main Campus Drive, Suite 150, 
Raleigh, NC 27606;  +(1 919) 855-7736  G/SPS/N/USA/2222 
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  13. Texts available from:  [X] National Notification Authority, [ ] National Enquiry Point.  
Address, fax number and e-mail address (if available) of other body:   United States 
SPS National Notification Authority, USDA Fore ign 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.s psenquirypoint@fas.usda.gov