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<h1 class="title"><a name="_Toc238895378"></a>Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis</h1>
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<h1 class="title"><a name="_Toc238895379"></a>Interim Rule</h1>
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<p><a name="_Toc238895381"></a>Citrus Seed Import; Citrus Greening and Citrus Variegated Chlorosis (7 CFR 319.37)</p>
<h1 class="title"> [APHIS-2008-0052]</h1>
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<h2 class="subtitle"><a name="_Toc238895382"></a>U.S. Department of Agriculture</h2>
<h2 class="subtitle"><a name="_Toc238895383"></a>Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service</h2>
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<h2 class="subtitle"><a name="_Toc238895384"></a>September 2009</h2>
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<p>7</p>
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<p>Table of Contents
Introduction	1
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis	1
Reasons Action is Being Considered	1
Objectives of and Legal Basis for the Rule	2
Potentially Affected Small Entities	3
Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance Requirements	6
Duplication, Overlap, or Conflict with Existing Rules and Regulations	6
Alternatives to minimize Significant Economic Impacts of the Rule	6
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<h1><a name="_Toc255977069"></a>Introduction</h1>
<p>We are amending the regulations governing the importation of nursery stock to prohibit the importation of propagative seed of several Rutaceae (citrus family) genera from certain countries where citrus greening (also known as Huanlongbing disease of citrus, or HLB) or citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC) is present.  We are also requiring propagative seed of these genera imported from all other countries to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration that neither citrus greening nor CVC are known to occur in the country where the seed was produced.  Scientific evidence indicates that seed of certain genera of the family Rutaceae may be a pathway for the introduction of those diseases.  This action is necessary in order to prevent the introduction or dissemination of citrus greening and CVC into or within the United States.  </p>
<h1><a name="_Toc238895387"></a><a name="_Toc238895454"></a><a name="_Toc255977070"></a>Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis</h1>
<p>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.  </p>
<h2><a name="_Toc238895388"></a><a name="_Toc238895455"></a><a name="_Toc255977071"></a>Reasons Action is Being Considered</h2>
<p>Citrus greening is considered to be one of the most serious citrus diseases in the world.  Citrus greening is a bacterial disease caused by strains of the bacterial pathogens “<u>Candidatus</u> Liberibacter asiaticus,” “<u>Candidatus</u> Liberibacter africanus”, and “<u>Candidatus</u> Liberibacter americanus” that attack the vascular system of host plants.  The pathogens are phloem-limited, inhabiting the food-conducting tissue of the host plant, and causes yellow shoots, blotchy mottling and chlorosis, reduced foliage, and tip dieback of citrus plants.  Citrus greening greatly reduces production, destroys the economic value of the fruit, and can kill trees.  Once a tree is infected, there is no cure for citrus greening.  In areas of the world where the disease is endemic, citrus trees decline and die within a few years and may never produce usable fruit.  Citrus greening was first detected in the United States in Miami-Dade County, FL, in 2005, and is only known to be present in the United States in the States of Florida and Georgia, Puerto Rico, two parishes in Louisiana, and two counties in South Carolina.</p>
<p>CVC is also a highly injurious disease of citrus.  Caused by a strain of the bacterium <u>Xylella</u> <u>fastidiosa</u>, CVC causes severe chlorosis between veins on the leaves of affected plants.  Leaves on affected plants frequently have discoloration of the upper leaf coupled with brown lesions underneath.  CVC may reduce plant growth and lead to abnormal flowering and fruit production.  CVC is currently not known to occur in the United States.</p>
<h2><a name="_Toc238895389"></a><a name="_Toc238895456"></a><a name="_Toc255977072"></a>Objectives of and Legal Basis for the Rule</h2>
<p><a name="_Toc238895390"></a><a name="_Toc238895457"></a>The objective of this interim rule is to prevent the entry and spread of HLB and CVC from foreign countries into the United States, and thereby protect the U.S. citrus and related industries from adverse production and economic consequences of these diseases.  The legal basis for this action is the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), which authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to prohibit or restrict the importation, entry, exportation, or movement in interstate commerce of any plant, plant product, biological control organism, noxious weed, article, or means of conveyance if the Secretary determines that the prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent the introduction of a plant pest or noxious weed into the United States or the dissemination of a plant pest or noxious weed within the United States.</p>
<h2><a name="_Toc255977073"></a>Potentially Affected Small Entities</h2>
<p><a name="_Toc238895391"></a><a name="_Toc238895458"></a>Seed of the genera of <i>Rutaceae</i> that are hosts of HLB and/or CVC are rarely imported, and then only in small quantities.  Trade data for these seeds are likely classified within the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HS) code 120999, “Seeds, Fruits and Spores for Sowing, Nesoi.”[footnoteRef:1]  In 2007, the United States imported seed under this classification from 9 of the 42 countries that will now be prohibited from shipping seed of the specified <i>Rutaceae </i>genera to the United States.  Seed imports from these 9 countries (China, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, Madagascar, Japan, Indonesia, Mauritius, and Malaysia, in the order of volumes shipped) represented about 7 percent of the 1.6 million kilograms of all HS code 120999 seed imported by the United States.  Imports from China constituted 4 of that 7 percent. [1:  Further information may be obtained on the Harmonized Tariff Schedule at the United States International  
  Trade Commission’s Tariff Information Center at <http://www.usitc.gov/tata/>.  Nesoi is the acronym for “Not elsewhere specified or included.”] 
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<p>The value of HS code 120999 seed imports from these 9 countries in 2007 was less than $4.5 million, or roughly 12 percent of the $37 million in seed imported under this classification.  It is reasonable to assume that seed of the <i>Rutaceae </i>genera prohibited by this rule comprise a small fraction of all seed imported under HS code 120999.  </p>
<p>APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine, during the 2007 fiscal year, reported three imported and released shipments of seed from within the Rutaceae<i> </i>family that are hosts of HLB and/or CVC.  These seed shipments came from 2 of the 42 countries that will now be prohibited from shipping seed of specified <i>Rutaceae</i> genera to the United States:  India and South Africa.  South Africa exported 300 kilograms of calodendrum seeds and 114 kilograms of citrus seeds to the United States, while India's citrus seed exports to the United States totaled 25 kilograms.  In each of these cases the seeds were inspected and found to meet requirements for importation.  The total value of these seed imports is estimated to have been less than $30,000 or 0.08 percent of the value of seed imported under HS code 120999.[footnoteRef:2] [2:  Total value was estimated using Global Trade Atlas data for HS code classification 120999, which includes seeds from genera other than Rutaceae.  ] 
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<p>Previous years’ import data indicate a similar pattern.  During the 2006 fiscal year, there were five imported and released shipments of seed from within the Rutaceae<i> </i>family that are hosts of HLB and/or CVC).  The seed shipments came from 2 of the 42 countries that will now be prohibited from shipping seed of the specified <i>Rutaceae </i>genera to the United States under the new regulations:  China and South Africa.  While the volume of citrus seeds from South Africa was 228 kilograms, the volume of calodendrum seed imported from South Africa was only 1 gram.  China exported 7 kilograms of poncirus seeds to the United States.  In each of these cases the seeds were inspected and found to meet requirements for importation.  The total value of these seed imports is estimated to have been less than $15,000 or 0.04 percent of the value of seed imported under HS code 120999.  During the 2005 fiscal year, only two one-kilogram shipments of citrus seed of the specified <i>Rutaceae </i>genera were imported into the United States; the shipments came from India.  The estimated value of these imports was approximately $88, or less than 0.0001 percent of the total value of all seed imported under HS code 120999 during that year.</p>
<p>The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to specifically consider the economic effects of their rules on small entities.  The Small Business Administration (SBA) has established size criteria based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) to determine which economic entities meet the definition of a small firm.  </p>
<p>The entities most likely to be affected by this interim rule are nursery operations producing citrus nursery stock for field plantings.  The Small Business Administration (SBA) small business size standard for nurseries, based upon the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 1114 (greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production), is $750,000 or less in annual receipts.[footnoteRef:3]  According to the <i>2007 Census of Agriculture</i>, there were a total of 54,889 greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture operations (NAICS 1114) with nearly 1.8 million acres of harvested land.[footnoteRef:4]  Of this number, more than 91 percent had annual sales in 2007 of less than $500,000, which is well below the SBA’s small-entity threshold of $750,000.[footnoteRef:5] [3:  Based upon 2007 Census of Agriculture – State Data and the “Small Business Size Standards by NAICS 
   Industry,” Code of Federal Regulations, Title 13, Chapter 1.]  [4:  National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), United States Department of Agriculture 
(USDA), “United States: Summary and State Data, Volume 1” 2007 Census of Agriculture, Issued February 2009.	]  [5:  Source: SBA and 2007 Census of Agriculture.] 
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<p>It is reasonable to assume that a majority of the operations that will be affected by this rule qualify as small entities, although APHIS does not have information on the size distribution of nursery operations that import seed of the specified <i>Rutaceae </i>genera.  These operations are not likely to be highly dependent on seed of these <i>Rutaceae </i>genera supplied by the 42 countries from which imports will be prohibited by this rule.  Any entity will be able to import seed of the specified <i>Rutaceae </i>genera from a country where HLB and CVC are not known to exist if the seed is accompanied by an import permit and a phytosanitary certificate, with an additional declaration that states that the country where the seed for planting was produced is free of HLB and CVC.  </p>
<p>APHIS welcomes public comment on the potential impacts to small entities associated with this interim rule.  </p>
<h2><a name="_Toc255977074"></a>Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance Requirements</h2>
<p>Reporting and recordkeeping requirements associated with the interim rule are discussed in the rule under the heading "Paperwork Reduction Act."</p>
<h2><a name="_Toc238895392"></a><a name="_Toc238895459"></a><a name="_Toc255977075"></a>Duplication, Overlap, or Conflict with Existing Rules and Regulations</h2>
<p>APHIS has not identified any duplication, overlap, or conflict of the proposed interim rule with other Federal rules.</p>
<h2><a name="_Toc238895393"></a><a name="_Toc238895460"></a><a name="_Toc255977076"></a>Alternatives to minimize Significant Economic Impacts of the Rule</h2>
<p>We considered two alternatives to this interim rule.  One alternative to this interim rule was to leave the regulations unchanged.  However, failure to prohibit the importation of propagative seed of the <i>Rutaceae</i> genera that are known hosts of citrus greening and/or citrus variegated chlorosis from countries where these diseases are known to occur poses a risk of introduction and spread of these diseases to hosts plants in the United States, especially in light of scientific evidence of a latency period for the detection of citrus greening in host material.  The economic costs of mitigating the harmful impacts of further outbreak and spread of these diseases would far exceed the benefits of importation, especially on small entities that may face quarantine restrictions commonly associated with an outbreak.  </p>
<p>The second alternative considered would impose a unilateral prohibition on the importation of propagative seed of the <i>Rutaceae</i> genera known to be hosts of citrus greening from all countries, based on the documented latency period for citrus greening.  Implementing this option as a precautionary measure would likely impose an unnecessary hindrance to trade with countries who have determined that citrus greening is not known to occur in their country, without creating a demonstrable benefit for small entities.  Based on our review of available information and this analysis, APHIS does not expect the interim rule to have a significant economic impact on small entities.  </p>
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