. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/USA/1934 
2 July 2009  
 (09-3223) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY MEASURES  
 
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 number(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  Alnus  spp. plants for planting, except seed 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable: 
[ X ] All trading partners, or [   ] Specific regions or countries:    
5. Title of the notified document:  Federal Order for Phytophthora alni  (dated 22 June 2009) 
Language:  English  Number of pages:  3 
6. Description of content:  The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is 
issuing a Federal Order pursuant to the regulatory authority provided by the Plant Protection Act of 20 June 2000, as amended, Section 412(a), 7 U.S.C. 7712(a), to prohibit 
the importation from all countries of Alnus  spp. plants for planting (excluding seed) 
because they are hosts of Phytophthora alni  Brasier & S.A. Kirk 2004.  To prevent the 
introduction and dissemination of this harmful plant pathogen into the United States, this 
Federal Order will be implem ented beginning 6 July 2009. 
Federal Orders will remain in effect until they  are revised by another Federal Order or until 
an interim rule on the subject is published. 
7. Objective and rationale:  [   ] food safety, [   ] animal health, [ X ] plant protection, [  
 ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [ X ] protect territory from other damage from pests.    
8. Nature of the urgent problem(s) and reason for urgent action:   
Recent scientific literature identified P. alni  as a destructive plant pathogen that seriously 
affects and leads to the death of plants in its host genus, Alnus Mill.  P. alni  is rapidly 
spreading through Europe in riparian environments and possibly through the movement of plants for planting.  Certain pathogenic strains of P. alni  are not known to occur in the 
United States, and the pathogen is not known to  be seed-transmitted.  Plant pathogens, 
including viruses and viroids, are extremely difficult to detect during a port of entry 
inspection of the host plants, particularly in the absence of symptoms.  In order to prevent 
the entry of P. alni , APHIS has determined that it is necessary to prohibit the importation G/SPS/N/USA/1934 
Page 2  
 
  of Alnus  spp. plants for planting, with the excepti on of seed, until a pest risk analysis has 
been completed and appropriate effective mitig ation measures have been established.  This 
action is necessary because APHIS has determin ed that the introduction and establishment 
of P. alni  poses a serious plant pest threat to the agriculture and environment of the 
United States. 
9. Is there a relevant international standard ?  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)    
[ X ] International Plant Protection Convention (e.g.  ISPM N°)     
[   ] None 
Does this proposed regulation conform to  the relev1ant international standard? 
 [ X ] Yes   [   ] No 
 This notification complies with the In ternational Standard on Phytosanitary 
Measures No.13 "Guidelines for the notif ication of non-compliance and emergency 
action".  This action is in accordance with the principles related to emergency action of 
Article VII of the revised text of the International Plant Protection Convention.  
 If no, describe, whenever possible, how and why it deviates from the 
international standard:   
10. Other relevant documents and langua ge(s) in which these are available:    
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/ plant_imports/federal_order/index.shtml  
11. Date of entry into force (dd/mm/yy)/period of application (as applicable):  6 July 2009 
[   ] Trading Facility measure  
12. Agency or authority designated to handle comments: [   ] National Notification 
Authority, [   ] National Enquiry Point.  Address, fax number and E-mail address (if 
available) of other body:   
For additional information regarding th is Federal Order, please contact:  
ppq.ippc.notification@aphis.usda.gov  
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 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