. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/USA/828/Add.6 
19 June 2008  
 (08-2902) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
 
NOTIFICATION  
 
Addendum
 
 
 
The following communication, received on 16 June 2008, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of the United States . 
 
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 Final Rule: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Mini mal-Risk Regions; Identification of Ruminants, 
and Processing and Importation of Commodities (APHIS–2006–0026)  
 
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the US Department of 
Agriculture is amending the regulations regarding the importation of animals and animal products to 
remove several restrictions regarding the identification of animals and the processing of ruminant materials from regions that present a minimal risk  of introducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy 
(BSE) into the United States.  We are removing th ese restrictions because they are not necessary to 
prevent the introduction of BSE into the United States. 
 
 The effective date of the final rule is 19 February 2008.   The final rule was published in the Fede ral Register:  18 January 2008 (Volume 73, 
Number 13) Rules and Regulations Pages 3379-3385 (a vailable in English).  To view online, go to 
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/advanced.html
, select 2008 FR Vol. 73, and search on 3379.  
 
 In a final rule published in the Federal Regi ster on 4 January 2005 (70 FR 460–553, Docket 
No. 03–080–3), we amended the regul ations regarding the importation of animals and animal products 
to establish a category of regions that present a mini mal risk of introducing BSE into the United States 
via live ruminants and ruminant products and by-pr oducts, and added Canada to  this category.  We 
also established conditions for the importation of certain live ruminants and ruminant products and 
by-products from such regions.  These regulations are in 9 CFR parts 93, 94, 95, and 96.  (To view the 4 January 2005 final rule online, go to http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/advanced.html
, select 2005 FR 
Vol. 70, and search on "page 460" (with quotation marks)).  
 On 28 November 2005, we published in the Fede ral Register an interim rule (70 FR 71213–
71218, Docket No. 03–080–8) that (1 ) broadened who is authorized to break the seals on a means of 
conveyance carrying certain ruminants from Canada and (2) amended the provisions regarding the 
transiting through the United States of certain rumi nant products from Canada to allow for limited 
direct transloading of the products from one means of conveyance to another in the United States.  
(To view the 28 January 2005 interim rule online, go to http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/advanced.html
, 
select 2005 FR Vol. 70, and search on "page 71213" (with quotation marks)). 
 G/SPS/N/USA/828/Add.6 
Page 2  
 
   On 14 March 2006, we published in the Federa l Register a technical amendment (71 FR 
12994–12998, Docket No. 03–080–9) that clarified our in tent with regard to certain provisions in the 
January 2005 final rule and corrected several in consistencies within the rule.  (To view the 
14 March 2006 technical amendment online, go to http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/advanced.html
, select 
2005 FR Vol. 70, and search on "pag e 12994" (with quotation marks).) 
 
 On 9 August 2006, we published in the Fede ral Register a proposed rule (71 FR 45439–
45444, Docket No. APHIS–2006–0026) to amend the regulations in 9 CFR parts 93, 94, and 95 to remove several restrictions regarding the identifi cation of ruminants and the processing of ruminant 
materials from BSE minimal-risk regions, as well as BSE-based restrictions on gelatin derived from 
bovine hides. (To view the 9 August 2006 proposed rule online, go to 
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/advanced.html
, select 2006 FR Vol. 71, and type 45439 in search box.  
  We solicited comments concerning our August 2006 proposed rule (referred to below as the 
"proposed rule") for 60 days ending 10 Octobe r 2006.  In a document published in the Federal 
Register on 9 November 2006 (71 FR 65758–65 759, Docket No. APHIS–2006–0026), we reopened 
and extended the deadline for comments until 24 November 2006.  We received ten comments in response to this proposed rule.  They were from organizations representing US producers of livestock 
and livestock products, renderers, and other members of the public.  The comments dealt with live 
animals as well as animal products.  (To view the comments online, go to http://www.regulations.gov/
 
and search on the docket number (APHIS–2006–0026)). 
 
 On 18 September 2007, we published in the Fe deral Register a final rule (72 FR 53113–
53379, Docket No. APHIS–2006–0041; effective 19 N ovember 2007) that established conditions for 
the importation into the United States from BSE mi nimal-risk regions of certain bovines and bovine 
commodities that had not been made eligible for impor tation by our January 2005 final rule.  (To view 
the 18 September 2007 final rule online, go to http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/advanced.html , select 
2007 FR Vol. 72, and search on "pag e 53113" (with quotation marks)). 
  Some of the changes we made to the regula tions in our September 2007 final rule affected 
regulatory text we had proposed to change in our  August 2006 proposed rule, either by rewording 
text, deleting provisions that would have been changed by our August 2006 proposed rule, or 
redesignating CFR paragraph references .  Consequently, we have made changes to this final rule to 
reflect the changes made by our September 2007 final rule.  In our discussion of this final rule, we 
identify where tho se changes occur. 
 
United States SPS National Notification Authority, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, 
International Regulations and Sta ndards 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 
  
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