. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/USA/1885 
18 November 2008  
 (08-5586) 
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):  Eggplant 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable :  Israel 
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:  PROPOSED RULE : 
Importation of Eggplant from Israel (Docket No. APHIS-2007-0153) (available in English, 
5 pages) 
6. Description of content:  The Animal and Plant Health Insp ection Service is proposing to 
allow the importation of commercial shipments of  fresh eggplant from Israel.  As a condition 
of entry, the eggplant would be grown under  a systems approach that would include 
requirements for pest exclusion at the production site, fruit fly trapping inside and outside the 
production site, and pest -excluding packinghouse procedures.  The eggplant would also be 
required to be accompanied by a phytosanitary ce rtificate issued by the Israeli national plant 
protection organization with an additional declar ation confirming that the eggplant had been 
produced in accordance with the proposed requi rements.  This action would allow for the 
importation of commercial consignments of fres h eggplant from Israel into the United States 
while continuing to provide protection agai nst the introduction of quarantine pests.  
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 :   
12 November 2008 (Volume 73, Number 219), Pages 66807-66811. Available in English. 
To view online, go to http://www.gpoaccess. gov/fr/advanced.html , select 2008 FR Vol. 73, 
and type "66807" in searchbox (with quotation marks) G/SPS/N/USA/1885 
Page 2  
 
  10. Proposed date of adoption:  N/A 
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  N/A 
12. Final date for comments:  12 January 2009 
Comments in general will be accepted at any ti me after publication of the notice of filing; 
however, if a final rule is promulgated, it will address only those comments that were 
received on or before the final date for comments. 
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: 
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–2007–0153) to submit or view co mments and to view s upporting and related 
materials available electronically. 
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send two copies of your comment to Docket No. 
APHIS–2007–0153, Regulatory Analysis and Deve lopment, PPD, APHI S, Station 3A–03.8, 
4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. Please state that your comment 
refers to Docket No. APHIS–2007–0153. 
For further information contact :  
Ms. Donna L. West, Senior Import Specialist, Commodity Import Analysis and Operations, 
PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Rive rdale, MD 20737-1231; + 1 (301) 734-8758. 
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