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United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Animal and 

Plant Health 

Inspection 

Service

January 2013

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

Proposed Rule 

APHIS-2008-0011

RIN 0579-AD75

Restructuring of Regulations on the 

Importation of Plants for Planting

Policy & Program Development

Policy Analysis & Development
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Summary

This analysis examines the potential economic impacts on small entities of a proposed 

rule to restructure the regulations contained in 7 CFR part 319 that govern the importation of 

plants for planting. This action would provide for more efficient application of these regulations, 

while not making any major changes to current import restrictions. Besides improving the 

clarity of these regulations, the proposed rule would:

 Consolidate the requirements for importation of plants for planting into one subpart in 7 

CFR part 319, and add most of the plants for planting that are listed as prohibited to the 

list of those whose importation is not authorized pending a plant risk assessment;

 Remove several lists of approved items (for example, approved growing media, packing 

materials, and ports of entry) from the regulations and instead provide these lists to the 

public in the Plants for Planting Manual;

 Move restrictions in the CFR on the importation of specific types of plants for planting to

the Plants for Planting Manual;

 Establish a framework for the use of integrated pest management measures where 

appropriate in the production of specific types of plants for planting for importation into 

the United States; 

 Simplify postentry quarantine requirements; and

 Establish a process for making changes to import restrictions on specific types of plants 

for planting after taking public comment on notices published in the Federal Register, 

rather than by publishing proposed and final rules. 

While nearly all importers of plants for planting that would be directly affected by the 

proposed rule are small, APHIS believes it unlikely that any economic impacts would be 
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significant, including instances in which phytosanitary certification would be newly required. 

The proposed changes would facilitate access to information on import restrictions for specific 

types of plants for planting, and create a more efficient process for amending import

requirements.
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Table of Contents

Summary.............................................................................................................................. i

Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis................................................................................ 3

Reasons Action is Being Considered.............................................................................. 3

Objectives of and Legal Basis for the Rule .................................................................... 3

Potentially Affected Small Entities................................................................................. 4

Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance Requirements................. 5

Duplication, Overlap, or Conflict with Existing Rules and Regulations........................ 7

Alternatives to minimize Significant Economic Impacts of the Rule............................. 7
1

Introduction

APHIS is proposing to restructure the regulations contained in 7 CFR part 319 that 

govern the importation of plants for planting. This action would provide for more efficient 

application of these regulations, while not making any major changes to current import

restrictions. Besides improving the clarity of these regulations, the proposed rule would:

 Consolidate the requirements for importation of plants for planting into one subpart in 7 

CFR part 319, and add most of the plants for planting that are listed as prohibited to the 

list of those whose importation is not authorized pending a plant risk assessment;

 Remove several lists of approved items (for example, approved growing media, packing 

materials, and ports of entry) from the regulations and instead provide these lists to the 

public in the Plants for Planting Manual;

 Move restrictions in the CFR on the importation of specific types of plants for planting to 

the Plants for Planting Manual;

 Establish a framework for the use of integrated pest management measures where 

appropriate in the production of specific types of plants for planting for importation into 

the United States; 

 Simplify postentry quarantine requirements; and

 Establish a process for making changes to import restrictions on specific types of plants 

for planting after taking public comment on notices published in the Federal Register, 

rather than by publishing proposed and final rules. 

The structural changes to the regulations and the Plants for Planting Manual would result 

in improved service by APHIS to importers and other entities that may be affected. 

Establishment of the notice-based process for changing import restrictions is expected to be 
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particularly beneficial. This process has been effectively used with respect to fruit and vegetable 

imports for several years. When introduced, the expected benefits of a notice-based process for 

fruit and vegetable imports were much the same as those expected for this proposed rule: 

By eliminating the need for specific prior rulemaking for notice-based process 

commodities, considerable time savings could be reaped. The current process for 

approving new imports takes a notable period of time, ranging on average from 18 

months to upwards of 3 years (beginning with the initial request and ending with the 

publication of the final rule). A significant portion of this time is accounted for in the 

rulemaking process. This rule will reduce the time needed for approval of some fruits 

and vegetables for import without eliminating the opportunity for public participation 

in our analysis of risk.1

The time savings that can be achieved has been quantified in APHIS’ Business Process 

Improvement (BPI) initiative.2 Reportedly, the average time required from receipt of a workplan 

or from the closing of the comment period to the entry of a rule or notice into departmental 

clearance is 185 days for plant import rules, compared to 52 days for plant import notices.3 In

other words, importers of plants for planting can expect changes in import restrictions for 

commodities that qualify for the notice-based process to be accomplished more than four months 

sooner than they would be through rulemaking.

 

1 Excerpt from the Executive Summary of the Final Economic and Final Regulatory Flexibility Analyses; Final 

Rule: Revision of "Subpart--Fruits and Vegetables" (7 CFR 319.56 through 319.56-8); Docket No. APHIS-2005-

0106, October 2006. http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2005-0106-0061

2

“Process Improvement: 2011 Progress on Agency Efforts,” October 2011, USDA APHIS. 

3 Under the BPI initiative, APHIS intends to further streamline both processes, reducing the average time required 

for rule preparation to 123 days and for notice preparation to 35 days. 
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Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to evaluate the potential effects of their 

proposed and final rules on small businesses, small organizations and small governmental 

jurisdictions. Section 603 of the Act requires agencies to prepare and make available for public 

comment an initial regulatory flexibility analysis that describes expected impacts of a proposed 

rule on small entities. 

Reasons Action is Being Considered

The proposed rule would allow APHIS to update restrictions on the importation of plants 

for planting more quickly and efficiently while maintaining transparency and opportunities for 

public input. The proposed rule would also establish the Plants for Planting Manual as a 

complete guide to restrictions on specific types of plants for planting, and would make the 

regulations easier to navigate in finding general restrictions on the importation of plants for 

planting. This action would make the regulations easier to use and to implement.

Objectives of and Legal Basis for the Rule

The objective of the proposed rule is to restructure our regulations governing the 

importation of plants for planting. In accordance with the Plant Protection Act of 2000 (Public 

Law 106-224), the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to undertake such actions as may be 

necessary to prevent the introduction and spread of plant pests and noxious weeds within the 

United States. The Secretary has delegated this responsibility to the Administrator of the Animal 

and Plant Health Inspection Service.
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Potentially Affected Small Entities

The entities most likely to be affected by this rule are businesses that import plants for 

planting, many of which are classified within one of three North American Industry

Classification System (NAICS) categories: 

 NAICS 424910, Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers;

 NAICS 424930, Flower, Nursery Stock, and Florists’ Supplies Merchant Wholesalers; or

 NAICS 444220, Nursery and Garden Centers.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has established standards for determining 

when entities are considered small. An entity classified within NAICS 424910 or 424930 is 

considered small if it has 100 or fewer employees. An entity classified within NAICS 444220 is 

considered small if it has annual receipts of $10 million or less.4 A review of statistics, as 

reported in the 2007 Economic Census, indicates that that the vast majority of the entities 

potentially affected by this rule are considered small.

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 Of the 7,738 establishments classified 

within NAICS 424910, there were 7,677 (or approximately 99 percent) operating the entire year 

with fewer than 100 employees. Of the 4,218 establishments classified within NAICS 424930, 

there were 4,151 (or approximately 98 percent) operating the entire year with fewer than 100 

employees. Of the 12,804 establishments classified within NAICS 444220, there were 12,366 

(or approximately 97 percent) operating the entire year with sales receipts less than $10 million. 

Clearly, the majority of potentially affected entities are small.

 

4

Based on the small business size standards matched to industries described in the North American Industry 

Classification System, as modified by the Office of Management and Budget in 2007, and reported in SBA’s Small 

Business Size regulations contained in 13 CFR 121.

5

Source of data by NAICS classification: 2007 Economic Census, U.S. Census Bureau. 
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Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements

Under the proposed rule, plants for planting offered for importation into the United States 

would need to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate, except for (i) small lots of seeds 

under certain conditions and (ii) plants for planting either authorized by the APHIS 

Administrator or listed in the Plants for Planting Manual as not requiring a phytosanitary

certificate. Currently, certain subparts of part 319 do not require that a phytosanitary certificate 

be acquired. Plants for planting that have been allowed to be imported under these subparts 

would be subject to the general requirements of the plants for planting regulations, including 

obtaining a phytosanitary certificate.

APHIS is also proposing to amend the other subparts to indicate that they do not regulate 

the importation of plants for planting and to remove those provisions. These subparts in part 319 

currently regulate the importation of cottonseed that can be used either for planting or for 

processing; sugarcane, including sugarcane for planting; the citrus subfamilies Aurantioideae, 

Rutoideae, and Toddalioideae of the family Rutaceae, to prevent the introduction of citrus canker 

and other citrus diseases; Indian corn and maize and related plants from certain countries; rice 

plants and plant parts; wheat articles from various countries; unroasted coffee, which can be used 

either for planting or processing; articles regulated to prevent the introduction of Khapra beetle; 

and articles regulated to prevent the introduction of gypsy moth.

The cost of phytosanitary certificates varies by country and often by the value of the 

consignment. As a point of reference, the user fee charged for phytosanitary certificates issued 

by PPQ for commercial consignments (valued at $1,250 or more) is $106, and for non-
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commercial consignments (valued at less than $1,250) is $61.6 Certificates issued other than 

during normal working hours are subject to overtime fees as well. In addition, an exporter who 

receives a phytosanitary certificate issued on behalf of APHIS by a designated State or county 

inspector must pay an administrative user fee of $6 if the Phytosanitary Certificate Issuance and 

Tracking System (PCIT) is used and $12 if PCIT is not used.

APHIS does not have information regarding the number of additional phytosanitary

certificates that would be required because of the proposed rule or their cost. A phytosanitary

certificate is required for most plants for planting under § 319.37-4. Obtaining a phytosanitary

certificate would be the responsibility of the exporter. The incidence of a certificate’s cost, that 

is, the portion borne by the exporter and the portion passed on to the importer, would depend on 

the relative responsiveness of exporters and importers to the cost change. Any effects of changes 

in price (because of the additional cost of certification) on supply and demand can be expected to 

vary from one commodity group to another and even within commodity groups depending on the

size of this price change relative to the value of the consignment.

We believe that the cost of phytosanitary certificates newly required by this proposed rule 

would be small when compared to the average value of the consignments. The commodities 

affected, particularly grains, are generally shipped in very large volumes. APHIS therefore does 

not expect the phytosanitary certification requirement to significantly affect importers of 

commodities not currently requiring certification. We welcome information that stakeholders 

and others may offer that would help us to better understand likely effects of this part of the 

proposed rule. 

 

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http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/plant_exports/userfees_export_certificate.shtml
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Duplication, Overlap, or Conflict with Existing Rules and Regulations

APHIS has not identified any duplication, overlap, or conflict of the proposed rule with 

other Federal rules.

Alternatives to minimize Significant Economic Impacts of the Rule

APHIS expects the proposed restructuring of the plants for planting import regulations to 

benefit small entities by providing the framework and processes by which both APHIS and 

importers may operate more efficiently. In many instances, the proposed rule would enable 

changes in import restrictions to be accomplished more quickly using a transparent notice-based 

process that would continue to allow for public input. We do not foresee this rule having a 

significant effect on small entities, but welcome informed comment that would provide us with a 

better understanding of the expected impact of expanding the phytosanitary certificate 

requirement. A phytosanitary certificate is considered an essential element in mitigating risks

associated with plants for planting. In the absence of apparent significant economic impacts, we 

have not identified alternatives that would minimize such impacts.