WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/USA/1573 
6 June 2007  
 (07-2330) 
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 number(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where applicable):  Squash, hubbard; rice, hulls; rice, rough; and rice, straw banana, pulp, 
postharvest, potato, processing waste (pre- & post-H) and wheat, milled fractions (except flour), citrus, dried pulp, postharvest, poultry; poultry, meat byproducts; poultry, meat; and egg, cattle, fat; goat, fat; hog, fat; horse, fat; and sheep, fat, goat, meat; hog, meat; horse, 
meat; and sheep, meat. cattle, meat byproduc ts; goat, meat byproducts; horse, meat 
byproducts; on hog, meat byproducts; and sheep , meat byproducts, on sweet potato (post-H 
to sweet potato intended only for use as seed) a pple, wet pomace, fruit, citrus, sugar beets 
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.  
Chloroneb, Cypermethrin, Methidathion, N itrapyrin, Oxyfluorfen, Pirimiphos-methyl, 
Sulfosate, Tebuthiuron, Thiabendazole, Thid iazuron, and Tribuphos; Proposed Tolerance 
Actions, (available in English, 16 pages) 
6. Description of content:  By this rule, EPA proposes to change regulations concerning 
thiabendazole as follows: 
Currently, thiabendazole tolera nces are established and expressed for residues of the 
fungicide thiabendazole (2-(4thiazolyl) be nzimidazole in or on plant commodities. 
However, EPA has determined that for th e purpose of tolerance regulation that its 
metabolite benzimidazole (free and conjugated) should be incl uded as a residue of concern 
in or on plant commodities.  Therefore, EPA is proposing to revise the tolerance expression 
as follows: 
Due to redundancy in pre-existing regulation, EPA is proposing to revoke the tolerance for 
thiabendazole residues of concern in or on banana, pulp, postharvest. 
Due to lack of use, EPA is proposing to revoke  the tolerances for thiabendazole residues of 
concern in or on squash, hubbard; rice, hulls; rice, rough; and rice, straw. 
Due to relevant risk assessment, EPA is prop osing to revoke tolerances for thiabendazole 
on potato, processing waste (pre- & post-H) a nd wheat, milled fractions (except flour), 
citrus, dried pulp, postharvest, poultry; poultr y, meat byproducts; poultry, meat; and egg, 
cattle, fat; goat, fat; hog, fat; horse, fat; and sh eep, fat, goat, meat; hog, meat; horse, meat; 
and sheep, meat. G/SPS/N/USA/1573 
Page 2  
 
  Based on relevant data, EPA is proposi ng to decrease the tolerance in 40 CFR 
180.242(a)(2) on milk to 0.1 ppm; on apple, postharvest and pear, postharvest and combine them into a group tolerance for fruit, pome, group 11, postharvest at 5.0 ppm, and to increase tolerances for thiabe ndazole on cattle, meat byproduc ts; goat, meat byproducts; 
horse, meat byproducts; on hog, meat byproducts  to 0.3 ppm; and sheep, meat byproducts 
to 0.4 ppm, on sweet potato (post-H to sweet potato intended only for use as seed) to 0.05 
ppm.  The Agency determined that the increased tolerance is safe; i.e., there is a reasonable 
certainty that no harm will result from aggr egate exposure to the pesticide chemical 
residue. 
EPA is proposing to establish a tolerance on apple, wet pomace at 12.0 ppm. 
Further, the Agency determined that a tole rance on citrus oil should be established at 
15.0 ppm. 
In addition, EPA is proposing to revise co mmodity terminology to conform to current 
Agency practice as follows: "fruit, citrus, pos tharvest'' to "fruit, citrus, group 10, 
postharvest". 
Currently, there is an active registration for thiabendazole use on sugar beets. The 
registrant does not intend to support the suga r beet tolerances.  Consequently, EPA will not 
take action to revoke the sugar beet toleran ces at this time, but will follow-up with the 
registrant on amending the registration in order to delete the sugar beet use and address the 
tolerances in a future publication in the Federal Register. 
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 changes to include 
the metabolite benzimidazole in the tolerance expression for thiabendazole when finalized 
could make US tolerances and Codex MRLs  incompatible because the Codex MRLs for 
thiabendazole are currently expressed in terms of the parent for plant commodities and sum 
of the parent and 5-hydroxythiabendazole for animal commodities.  EPA is maintaining the 
tolerance on cattle meat at 0.1 ppm in order to harmonize as closely as possible with the 
Codex MRL of 0.1 mg/kg. 
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  Federal Register: 
2 May 2007 (Volume 72, Number 84) Proposed Rules Page 24198-24213; 
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-PEST/2007/May/Day-02/p8373.htm 
10. Proposed date of adoption:   N/A 
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  2 July 2007  G/SPS/N/USA/1573 
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  12. Final date for comments:  Comments must be received on or  before 2 July 2007, and may 
be identified by docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-0036. 
Agency or authority designated to handl e 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 Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200, Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 
20460-0001 
13. Texts available from:  [X] National notificati on authority, [ ] National enquiry point, 
or address, fax number and E-mail add ress (if available) of other body:   United States 
SPS National Notification Authority, USDA Fore ign Agricultural Service, International 
Regulations and Standards Division (IRSD), St op 1027, Washington D.C. 20250;  Tel:  +(1 
202) 720-1301;  Fax:  +(1 202) 690- 0677;  E-mail:  fstsd@fas.usda.gov