This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

21425

Vol. 60, No. 84

Tuesday, May 2, 1995

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of the Secretary

7 CFR Part 6

Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota

Licensing

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule.

SUMMARY: This rule amends Import

Regulation 1, Revision 7 which governs

the administration of the import

licensing system for certain dairy

products which will be subject to inquota tariff rates established in the

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the

United States resulting from the entry

into force of certain provisions in the

Uruguay Round Agreement on July 1,

1995, and with respect to the licensing

for certain dairy product shipments

denied entry during January 1–3, 1995.

DATES: This interim rule will be

effective upon May 2, 1995. Comments

should be submitted on or before June

16, 1995, to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to

Richard Warsack, Dairy Import Quota

Manager, Import Policies and Programs

Division, Room 5531–S, Foreign

Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, 14th and Independence

Avenue, S.W., Agricultural Box 1025,

Washington, D.C. 20250–1025. All

comments received will be available for

public inspection in room 5541–S at the

above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Diana Wanamaker, Group Leader,

Import Programs Group, Import Policies

and Programs Division, Room 5531–S,

Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, 14th and

Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20250, or telephone

(202) 720–2916.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

This supplement to the interim rule is

issued in conformance with Executive

Order 12866. It has been determined to

be significant for the purposes of E.O.

12866 and, therefore, has been reviewed

by the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

It has been determined that the

Regulatory Flexibility Act is not

applicable to this interim rule relating to

foreign affairs since the Office of the

Secretary is not required by 5 U.S.C. 553

or any other provision of law to publish

a notice of proposed rulemaking with

respect to the subject matter of this rule.

Executive Order 12372

This program is not subject to the

provisions of Executive Order 12372,

which requires intergovernmental

consultation with State and local

officials. See notice related to 7 CFR

part 3015, subpart V, published at 48 FR

29115 (June 24, 1983).

Environmental Evaluation

It has been determined by an

environmental evaluation that this

action will not have a significant impact

on the quality of the human

environment. Therefore, neither an

Environmental Assessment nor an

Environmental Impact Statement is

needed.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This interim rule amends the existing

information collection as approved by

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) pursuant to the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C. 3501

et seq.), under OMB control number

0551–0001, expiring June 30, 1997.

Due to the time constraints of

implementing this interim rule, the

agency has requested emergency

clearance of this addendum from OMB.

Comments on the information collection

may be sent to the Office of Information

and Regulatory Affairs, Office of

Management and Budget, Room 10202,

NEOB, Washington, D.C. 20503.

Attention: Desk Officer for USDA.

Executive Order 12778

This interim rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12778. The

provisions of this supplement to the

interim rule would have preemptive

effect with respect to any state or local

laws, regulations, or policies which

conflict with such provisions or which

otherwise impede their full

implementation. The interim rule would

not have retroactive effect.

Background

This interim rule amends Import

Regulation 1, Revision 7 which governs

the administration of the import

licensing system for certain dairy

products which are subject to in-quota

tariff rates proclaimed in the

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the

United States (HTS). Imports of certain

cheese and non-cheese dairy products

are subject to tariff-rate quotas

proclaimed in the HTS as a result of the

entry into force of the Uruguay Round

Agreement.

These amendments to the Import

Regulation are being published as an

interim rule because the Uruguay Round

commitments taking effect on July 1,

1995, were not finalized pursuant to

bilateral agreements until recently and it

is necessary to provide an application

period as soon as possible in order to

issue licenses prior to the effective date.

With respect to certain dairy product

shipments denied entry during January

1–3, 1995, these licenses must also be

issued as soon as possible to fulfill our

Uruguay Round commitments.

Therefore, good cause is shown to

publish this rule as interim without

prior public participation.

This interim rule is issued under the

authority of section 103 and 404 of the

Uruguay Round Agreements Act and the

notes to Chapter 4 and General Note 15

of the HTS. It completes the Uruguay

Round implementation process for the

1995 quota year by establishing the

import licensing system for the

quantities of cheese and non-cheese

dairy products subject to in-quota tariff

rates in the HTS effective July 1, 1995.

The following changes made by this

interim rule are intended to fulfill the

Uruguay Round obligations of the

United States and to facilitate the

administration of the tariff-rate import

quota licensing system for 1995.

1. The Import Regulation is amended

to: (1) Administer Uruguay Round tariffrate quotas for those countries whose

Uruguay Round schedules of

concessions will take effect on July 1,

1995; (2) establish Appendix 3

supplementary licenses for such
21426 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 2, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

countries and the respective in-quota

tariff-rate quota quantities of cheese,

and (3) provide for an application

period for such licenses.

2. The Import Regulation is amended

to permit the European Community (EC)

to endorse in writing eligible applicants

for the increments in quantities of

cheese subject to the in-quota tariff rate

as provided for in the Uruguay Round

Agreement.

3. The Import Regulation is also

amended to ensure that the orderly

marketing of trade in the United States

is not disrupted for articles for which

entry was attempted into the United

States after January 1, 1995, without

prior knowledge that an unlicensed

article would be made subject to

licensing as of January 1, 1995. This

interim rule provides a very limited

exclusion from license-size limitations

for certain shipments which were

denied entry into the United States by

the U.S. Customs Service during a brief

period the Department considers

licensing to have been unanticipated.

This exclusion applies only to that part

of the in-quota tariff-rate quantity which

had been unlicensed prior to January 1,

1995 and will be prorated among

licensees as necessary.

An Advance Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking (ANPR) was published in

the Federal Register on June 2, 1994,

seeking comments on methods for

allocating articles that would be subject

to the in-quota tariff rate proclaimed in

the HTS on January 1, 1995, and

suggestions on other changes intended

to update and make more enforceable

the provisions of the Import Regulation.

A proposed rule embodying

fundamental changes to the Import

Regulation as envisaged in the ANPR

will be published in the near future.

An interim rule was published in the

Federal Register on January 6, 1995,

which amended the Import Regulation

to the extent necessary to implement the

Uruguay Round commitments which

became effective on January 1, 1995.

The interim rule established an import

licensing system for in-quota tariff-rate

quota quantities of cheese and certain

other non-cheese dairy products subject

to in-quota tariff rates in the HTS. These

quantities included both the quantities

which were previously subject to

absolute quotas under section 22 of the

Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, as

amended, and additional quantities of

cheese and certain non-cheese dairy

articles negotiated under the Uruguay

Round of multilateral trade negotiations

for those countries which implemented

their Uruguay Round commitments on

January 1, 1995. The interim rule

provided for a 30-day public comment

period ending on February 21, 1995.

Written comments were received from

seven different entities.

In addition to amending the Import

Regulation to implement the changes to

the HTS effective on July 1, 1995, this

interim rule amends the Import

Regulation in accordance with certain

comments on the interim rule published

on January 6, 1995, recommending

changes deemed both administratively

possible or necessary to implement

during the remainder of the 1995 quota

year. Other comments on the January 6

interim rule will be considered for

inclusion in the proposed rule as

envisaged in the ANPR.

The comment reflected herein

requested entry for that quantity of

butter substitutes being detained which

was previously subject to an unlicensed

global quota. The interim rule provides

for a very limited and strict license size

exclusion to enter certain butter

substitutes. Another comment

recommended clarifying the minimum

license size of supplementary quota

shares and certain article descriptions in

Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 of the

interim rule. This interim rule makes

these technical corrections.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 6

Agricultural commodities, Cheese,

Dairy products, Imports, and Reporting

and record keeping requirements.

Interim Rule

PART 6—[AMENDED]

Accordingly, 7 CFR Part 6, Subpart—

Tariff-Rate Quotas is amended as

follows:

1. Section 6.25 is revised by revising

the first sentence of paragraph (c)(2) to

read as follows:

§ 6.25 Eligibility.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (b)(4)

of this section, certification required to

establish supplementary eligibility for

license for articles under Appendix 3 of

this subpart must be postmarked no

earlier than January 30, 1995 and no

later than February 20, 1995 for those

licenses issued for in-quota tariff-rate

quota quantities which became effective

on January 1, 1995, and no earlier than

May 10, 1995 and no later than May 19,

1995 for those licenses that will be

issued for in-quota tariff-rate quota

quantities that will become effective on

July 1, 1995. * * *

* * * * *

2. Section 6.26 is amended by revising

the second sentence of paragraph

(c)(3)(ii), revising paragraph (d)(2), and

revising paragraph (d)(3) (i) and (ii) to

read as follows:

§ 6.26 Allocation of annual quota and

issuance of licenses.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(3) * * *

(ii) * * * If eligible applicants whose

applications have been endorsed by the

government of the supplying country as

set forth in (c)(3)(i) of this section

request an aggregate amount of a

specific quota from a specific country

(not the EC, except for those additional

quantities of cheese made subject to the

in-quota tariff rate in the Uruguay

Round Agreement) smaller than is

available for allocation, or if no

endorsement is made, the Licensing

Authority shall allocate remaining

portions among applicants who have

not been endorsed, following a

procedure identical to that set forth in

paragraph (c)(2) of this section for the

EC, replacing, for this purpose, the

words ‘‘the EC’’ wherever they appear

with ‘‘a particular non-EC country’’.

* * * * *

(d) * * *

(2) The size of a supplementary quota

share issued to an eligible applicant

shall not exceed 57,000 kilograms,

except that this maximum share

provided for in (d)(ii) above shall not be

applicable to that quantity of an inquota tariff-rate quota which was not

subject to licensing prior to January 1,

1995 when the import of such product

was offered for entry and denied entry

into the United States by U.S. Customs

during January 1–3, 1995. Not later than

June 1, 1995, an applicant must submit

with its application, an invoice, bill of

lading, and other relevant

documentation to the Licensing

Authority for his determination that

there is sufficient documentary

evidence that such import was offered

for entry during January 1–3, 1995. If

the Licensing Authority determines that

a quantity greater than that available is

requested by eligible applicants, the

quantity available will be prorated

among the licensees.

(3) * * *

(i) 19,000 kilograms where the total

amount available for allocation is

550,000 kilograms or less;

(ii) 38,000 kilograms where the total

amount available for allocation is

greater than 550,000 kilograms.

3. In Appendix 1, the article

description for Edam and Gouda in

Group II(a) and the article description

for Italian-type cheese in Group IV(a)

are revised as follows:
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 2, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 21427

Appendix 1—Articles Subject to the

Historical and Nonhistorical Licensing

Provisions of Import Regulation 1,

Revision 7, and Respective Annual

Import Quotas for Each Quota Year

* * * * *

Group II

(a) Edam and Gouda cheese, and cheese

and substitutes for cheese containing, or

processed from Edam and Gouda cheese

(Note 20) * * *

* * * * *

Group IV

(a) Italian-type cheese made from cow’s

milk (Romano made from cow’s milk,

Reggiano, Parmesano, Provolone, Provolette,

Sbrinz, and Goya not in original loaves), and

cheeses and substitutes for cheese

containing, or processed from, such Italiantype cheeses, whether or not in original

loaves (Note 21) * * *

* * * * *

4. In Appendix 2, the article

description for Italian-type cheese in

Group IV (a) is revised as follows:

Appendix 2—Articles Subject to the

Historical and Nonhistorical Licensing

Provisions of Import Regulation 1,

Revision 7, and Respective Annual

Import Quotas for Each Quota Year

* * * * *

Group IV

(a) Italian-type cheese made from cow’s

milk (Romano made from cow’s milk,

Reggiano, Parmesano, Provolone, Provolette,

Sbrinz, and Goya not in original loaves), and

cheeses and substitutes for cheese

containing, or processed from, such Italiantype cheeses, whether or not in original

loaves (Note 21) * * *

* * * * *

5. Appendix 3 is revised to read as

follows:

Appendix 3—Articles Subject to the

Supplementary Licensing Provisions of

Import Regulation 1, Revision 7, and

Respective Annual Import Quotas for

Each Quota Year

Article by HTS note number

Annual supplementary

quota

(kilograms)

Butter (Note 6) ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 3,656,311

Dried Skim Milk (Note 7) ..................................................................................................................................................................... 441,359

Dried Whole Milk (Note 8) ................................................................................................................................................................... 368,125

Butter Substitutes Containing over 45% by weight of butterfat and butteroil (Note 14) ..................................................................... 3,480,500

Cheese and substitutes for cheese (except cheese not containing cow’s milk and soft ripened cow’s milk cheese, cheese (except cottage cheese) containing 0.5 percent or less by weight of butterfat, and articles within the scope of other tariff-rate

quotas provided for in this subchapter) (Note 16) ........................................................................................................................... 2,978,834

Australia ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 291,667

Austria ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 45,500

Costa Rica .................................................................................................................................................................................... 1,000,000

Czech Republic ............................................................................................................................................................................ 200,000

EC ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 150,000

Poland* ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 300,000

Slovak Republic ............................................................................................................................................................................ 600,000

Switzerland ................................................................................................................................................................................... 41,667

Uruguay ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 250,000

Any Country .................................................................................................................................................................................. 100,000

Blue-mold cheese (except Stilton produced in the United Kingdom) and cheese and substitutes for cheese containing, or processed from, blue-mold cheese (Note 17) ........................................................................................................................................ 88,333

Chile .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 13,333

Czech Republic ............................................................................................................................................................................ 50,000

EC ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 25,000

Cheddar cheese, and cheese and substitutes for cheese containing, or processed from, Cheddar cheese (Note 18) ................... 1,328,333

Australia ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 208,333

EC ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 83,333

Chile .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 36,667

Czech Republic ............................................................................................................................................................................ 50,000

New Zealand ................................................................................................................................................................................ 850,000

Any Country .................................................................................................................................................................................. 100,000

American-type cheese, including Colby, washed curd, and granular cheese (but not including cheddar) and cheese and substitutes for cheese containing or processed from such American-type cheese (Note 19) ............................................................. 8,333

EC ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8,333

Edam and Gouda cheese, and cheese and substitutes for cheese containing, or processed from, Edam and Gouda Cheese

(Note 20) .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 293,333

Argentina ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 110,000

Austria ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 33,333

EC ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 50,000

Czech Republic ............................................................................................................................................................................ 100,000

Italian-Type cheeses, made from cow’s milk (Romano made from cow’s milk, Reggiano, Parmesan, Provolone, Provoletti,

Sbrinz, and Goya not in original loaves) and cheese and substitutes for cheese containing, or processed from, such ItalianType cheeses, whether or not in original loaves (Note 21) ............................................................................................................ 4,281,666

Argentina ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 1,890,000

EC ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 58,333

Uruguay ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 750,000

Hungary ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 400,000

Poland* ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 1,100,000

Romania ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 83,333

Swiss and Emmenthaler cheese other than with eye formation Gruyere-process, and cheese and substitutes for cheese containing, or processed from such cheese (Note 22) ......................................................................................................................... 31,666

Austria ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 6,666

EC ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 25,000

Swiss and Emmenthaler cheese with eye formation (Note 25) .......................................................................................................... 1,043,332
21428 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 2, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

Article by HTS note number

Annual supplementary

quota

(kilograms)

Austria ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 18,333

EC ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 58,333

Sweden ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 150,000

Switzerland ................................................................................................................................................................................... 16,666

Czech Republic ............................................................................................................................................................................ 400,000

Hungary ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 400,000

*Issuance of licenses and quota quantities are conditioned on completion of a bilateral memorandum of understanding between the Governments of the United States and Poland.

Signed at Washington, D.C., on April 21,

1995.

Richard E. Rominger,

Acting Secretary of Agriculture.

[FR Doc. 95–10712 Filed 4–27–95; 12:36 pm]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

9 CFR Part 94

[Docket No. 94–107–2]

Switzerland; Change in Disease Status

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: We are declaring Switzerland

free of rinderpest, foot-and-mouth

disease, and Exotic Newcastle disease

(VVND). As part of this action, we are

adding Switzerland to the lists of

countries that, although declared free of

rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease, and

VVND, are subject to restrictions on

meat and other animal products offered

for importation into the United States.

This rule removes the prohibition on the

importation of ruminants and fresh,

chilled, and frozen meat of ruminants

into the United States from Switzerland,

although those importations will be

subject to certain restrictions. This rule

also relieves certain prohibitions and

restrictions on the importation, from

Switzerland, of milk and milk products

of ruminants and of certain poultry and

poultry products.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 17, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Kathleen Akin, Senior Staff

Veterinarian, Import/Export Products,

National Center for Import and Export,

VS, APHIS, Suite 3B05, 4700 River Road

Unit 40, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231,

(301) 734–7830.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The regulations in 9 CFR part 94

(referred to below as the regulations)

govern the importation into the United

States of specified animals and animal

products in order to prevent the

introduction into the United States of

various animal diseases, including

rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease

(FMD), and Exotic Newcastle disease

(VVND). FMD and rinderpest are

dangerous and destructive

communicable diseases of ruminants

and swine. VVND is a contagious,

infectious, and communicable disease of

poultry.

On February 2, 1995, we published in

the Federal Register (60 FR 6454–6456,

Docket No. 94–107–1) a proposal to

amend the regulations by adding

Switzerland to the list in § 94.1(a)(2) of

countries declared free of both

rinderpest and FMD and to the list in

§ 94.6(a)(2) of countries declared free of

VVND. In that document, we also

proposed to add Switzerland to the list

in § 94.11(a) of countries that, although

declared free of rinderpest and FMD, are

subject to special restrictions on the

importation of their meat and other

animal products into the United States.

We solicited comments concerning

our proposal for 60 days ending April 3,

1995. We did not receive any comments.

The facts presented in the proposed rule

still provide the basis for this final rule.

Therefore, based on the rationale set

forth in the proposed rule, we are

adopting the provisions of the proposal

as a final rule without change.

Effective Date

This is a substantive rule that relieves

restrictions and, pursuant to the

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553, may be made

effective less than 30 days after

publication in the Federal Register.

This rule removes the prohibition on the

importation of ruminants and fresh,

chilled, and frozen meat of ruminants

into the United States from Switzerland

and relieves restrictions on the

importation from Switzerland of milk

and milk products of ruminants and

certain poultry and poultry products.

We have determined that approximately

2 weeks are needed to ensure that

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service personnel at ports of entry

receive official notice of this change in

the regulations. Therefore, the

Administrator of the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service has

determined that this rule should be

made effective 15 days after publication

in the Federal Register.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory

Flexibility Act

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12866. For this action,

the Office of Management and Budget

has waived its review process required

by Executive Order 12866.

This final rule amends the regulations

in part 94 by adding Switzerland to the

list of countries declared free of

rinderpest and FMD and to the list of

countries declared free of VVND. This

action will remove the prohibition on

the importation of ruminants and fresh,

chilled, and frozen meat of ruminants

into the United States from Switzerland,

although those importations will be

subject to certain restrictions. This

revision will also relieve restrictions on

the importation from Switzerland of

milk and milk products of ruminants

and certain poultry and poultry

products. This action will not relieve

certain restrictions on the importation of

live swine and fresh, chilled, and frozen

meat of swine from Switzerland because

Switzerland is still considered to be

affected with hog cholera. Similarly,

this action will not relieve certain

restrictions on the importation from

Switzerland, of ruminant meat and

edible products from ruminants because

bovine spongiform encephalopathy

(BSE) exists in Switzerland.

Based on available information, the

Department does not anticipate a major

increase in exports of ruminants and

fresh, chilled, or frozen meat of

ruminants or poultry from Switzerland

into the United States as a result of this

final rule.

The primary effects due of this change

in the regulations will be limited to

bovine meat and prepared products,

since swine and swine products are

excluded because of restrictions due to