This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

62692 

Vol. 75, No. 197 

Wednesday, October 13, 2010 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Office of the Secretary 

7 CFR Part 6 

RIN 0551–AA65 

Dairy Import Licensing Program 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

suspend the historical license reduction 

provisions of the Dairy Import Licensing 

Program, 7 CFR part 6, for a period of 

5 years. This temporary suspension is 

intended to improve program 

administration and reflect ongoing 

changes in the markets for cheese and 

other dairy products subject to import 

licensing requirements. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

November 12, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Address all comments 

concerning this proposed rule to Ron 

Lord, Branch Chief, Sugar and Dairy 

Branch, Import and Trade Support 

Programs Division, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, 1400 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Stop 1021, Washington, DC 20250– 

1021; e-mail Ronald.Lord@fas.usda.gov; 

telephone (202) 720–6939; or fax (202) 

720–0876. Persons with disabilities who 

require an alternative means for 

communication of information (Braille, 

large print, audiotape, etc.) should 

contact USDA’s Target Center at (202) 

720–2600 (voice and TDD). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron 

Lord, Branch Chief, Sugar and Dairy 

Branch, Import and Trade Support 

Programs Division, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, 1400 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Stop 1021, Washington, DC 20250– 

1021; e-mail Ronald.Lord@fas.usda.gov; 

telephone (202) 720–6939; or fax (202) 

720–0876. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866 

The proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant under 

E.O. 12866 and has been reviewed by 

the Office of Management and Budget. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act 

ensures that regulatory and information 

requirements are tailored to the size and 

nature of small businesses, small 

organizations, and small governmental 

jurisdictions. This proposed rule will 

not have a significant economic impact 

on small businesses participating in the 

program. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988. The 

provisions of this proposed rule would 

not have a preemptive effect with 

respect to any State or local laws, 

regulations, or policies which conflict 

with such provision or which otherwise 

impede their full implementation. The 

proposed rule would not have a 

retroactive effect. Before any judicial 

action may be brought forward 

regarding this proposed rule, all 

administrative remedies must be 

exhausted. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

The Administrator has determined 

that this action will not have a 

significant effect on the quality of the 

human environment. Therefore, neither 

an Environmental Assessment nor an 

Environmental Impact Statement is 

necessary for this proposed rule. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (Pub. 

L. 104–4) 

Public Law 104–4 requires 

consultation with state and local 

officials and Indian tribal governments. 

This proposed rule does not impose an 

unfunded mandate or any other 

requirement on state, local, or tribal 

governments. Accordingly, these 

programs are not subject to the 

provisions of the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act. 

Executive Order 12630 

This Order requires careful evaluation 

of governmental actions that interfere 

with constitutionally protected property 

rights. This proposed rule would not 

interfere with any property rights and, 

therefore, does not need to be evaluated 

on the basis of the criteria outlined in 

Executive Order 12630. 

Government Paperwork Elimination 

Act 

Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is 

committed to compliance with the 

Government Paperwork Elimination 

Act, which requires Government 

agencies, in general, to provide the 

public the option of submitting 

information or transacting business 

electronically to the maximum extent 

possible. 

Background 

The proposed rule at 7 CFR part 6 

would revise the Dairy Tariff-Rate 

Import Quota Licensing regulation by 

suspending, for a period of 5 years, the 

provisions with respect to the reduction 

of historical licenses based on 

surrenders of unused amounts. Import 

licensing is one of the tools the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) uses 

to administer the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) 

system for U.S. imports of dairy 

products. TRQs replaced strictly 

quantitative import quotas for dairy 

products on January 1, 1995, as a result 

of the Uruguay Round Agreement on 

Agriculture and the Uruguay Round 

Agreements Act. Under these TRQs, a 

low-tariff rate, called the in-quota rate, 

applies to imports up to a specified 

quantity. A higher tariff rate, called the 

over-quota rate, applies to any imports 

in excess of that amount. TRQ rates and 

quantities vary by product. 

For dairy products subject to TRQs, a 

license issued by the FAS is generally 

required to import products at the inquota rate. No license is required to 

import products at the over-quota rate. 

Under the historical license 

reductions provisions, the amount of the 

license issued by FAS is reduced if the 

importer surrenders more than 50 

percent of the license at least 3 out of 

5 consecutive years. Section 6.25(b)(1)(i) 

provides that beginning with the quota 

year 2011, if a licensee surrenders more 

than 50 percent of a historical license in 

at least 3 out of the 5 prior years, that 

license will be permanently reduced to 

the average amount entered during 

those 5 years. These provisions are 

intended to provide a strong incentive 

for companies with historical licenses to 

utilize their licenses. 

In 2008, the regulations were revised 

to suspend these provisions for the 2009 

and 2010 quota years, thereby delaying 

their implementation until 2011. The 

following background statement was 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 13, 2010 / Proposed Rules 62693 

included: ‘‘Market conditions are always 

subject to fluctuation and change, and it 

is incumbent upon all license holders to 

adjust to these changing conditions. 

Nonetheless, to allow additional time to 

adjust to changes in EU’s supply and 

demand, due to its long-term dairy 

policy changes, the Department will 

temporarily suspend the historical 

license reduction provisions for a period 

of 2 years, commencing in 2009. 

Historical license reductions will again 

be implemented beginning 2011, rather 

than in 2012 or 2014, as in the proposed 

rule.’’ 

As the circumstances that prompted 

the previous suspension continue, an 

additional temporary suspension is 

proposed to improve program 

administration and reflect ongoing 

changes in the markets for cheese and 

other dairy products subject to import 

licensing requirements. The historical 

licenses provide for orderly importation 

of a wide variety of cheeses and permit 

companies to invest in market 

development with some assurance of 

future ability to provide specific types 

of cheese. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 6 

Agricultural commodities, cheese, 

dairy products, imports, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

For the reasons described in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 6 is proposed to 

be amended as follows: 

PART 6—IMPORT QUOTAS AND FEES 

Subpart—Dairy Tariff—Rate Import 

Quota Licensing 

1. The authority citation of part 6 

subpart—Dairy Tariff—Rate Import 

Quota Licensing, continues to read as 

follows: 

Authority: Additional U.S. Notes 6, 7, 8, 

12, 14, 16–23 and 25 to Chapter 4 and 

General Note 15 of the Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States (19 U.S.C. 

1202), Pub. L. 97–258, 96 Stat. 1051, as 

amended (31 U.S.C. 9701), and secs. 103 and 

404, Pub. L. 103–465, 108 Stat. 4819 (19 

U.S.C. 3513 and 3601). 

2. Section 6.25 (b)(1) is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 6.25 Allocation of licenses. 

* * * * * 

(b) Historical licenses for the 2011 

and subsequent quota years (Appendix 

1). (1) A person issued a historical 

license for the 2010 quota year will be 

issued a historical license in the same 

amount for the same article from the 

same country for the 2011 quota year 

and for each subsequent quota year 

except that: 

(i) Beginning with the quota year 

2016, a person who has surrendered 

more than 50 percent of such historical 

license in at least three of the prior five 

quota years will thereafter be issued a 

license in an amount equal to the 

average annual quantity entered during 

those five quota years. 

(ii) [Reserved] 

* * * * * 

Dated: October 5, 2010. 

Suzanne Hale, 

Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–25651 Filed 10–12–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–10–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 205 

[Doc. #AMS–NOP–10–0048; NOP–10–05] 

National Organic Program: Notice of 

Draft Guidance for Accredited 

Certifying Agents and Certified 

Operations 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability with 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The National Organic 

Program (NOP) is announcing the 

availability of five draft guidance 

documents intended for use by 

accredited certifying agents and 

certified operations. The five draft 

guidance documents are entitled as 

follows: Compost and Vermicompost in 

Organic Crop Production (NOP 5021); 

Wild Crop Harvesting (NOP 5022); 

Outdoor Access for Organic Poultry 

(NOP 5024); Commingling and 

Contamination Prevention in Organic 

Production and Handling (NOP 5025); 

and The Use of Chlorine Materials in 

Organic Production and Handling (NOP 

5026). These draft guidance documents 

are intended to inform the public of 

NOP’s current thinking on these topics. 

The NOP is seeking comments on the 

five draft guidance documents. A notice 

of availability of final guidance on these 

topics will be issued upon their final 

approval. Once finalized, these 

guidance documents will be available 

from the NOP through ‘‘The Program 

Handbook: Guidance and Instructions 

for Accredited Certifying Agents (ACAs) 

and Certified Operations’’. This 

Handbook provides those who own, 

manage, or certify organic operations 

with guidance and instructions that can 

assist them in complying with the 

National Organic Program (NOP) 

regulations. The current edition of the 

Program Handbook is available online at 

http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop or in 

print upon request. 

DATES: To ensure that NOP considers 

your comment on this draft guidance 

before it begins work on the final 

version of the guidance, submit written 

comments on the draft guidance by 

December 13, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Submit written requests for 

hard copies of these draft guidance 

documents to Toni Strother, 

Agricultural Marketing Specialist, 

National Organic Program, USDA– 

AMS–NOP, 1400 Independence Ave., 

SW., Room 2646 So., Ag Stop 0268, 

Washington, DC 20250–0268. See the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for 

electronic access to the draft guidance 

documents. 

Interested persons may comment on 

these five draft guidance documents 

using the following procedures: 

Internet: http://www.regulations.gov. 

Mail: Comments may be submitted by 

mail to: Toni Strother, Agricultural 

Marketing Specialist, National Organic 

Program, USDA–AMS–NOP, 1400 

Independence Ave., SW., Room 2646 

So., Ag Stop 0268, Washington, DC 

20250–0268. 

Written comments responding to this 

request should be identified with the 

document number AMS–NOP–10–0048; 

NOP–10–05. You should clearly 

indicate your position and the reasons 

for your position. You should clearly 

indicate which guidance document you 

are commenting on, especially if you 

choose to comment on more than one 

draft guidance document. If you are 

suggesting changes to a draft guidance 

document, you should include 

recommended language changes, as 

appropriate, along with any relevant 

supporting documentation. 

USDA intends to make available all 

comments, including names and 

addresses when provided, regardless of 

submission procedure used, on http:// 

www.regulations.gov and at USDA— 

AMS, NOP, Room 2646–South building, 

1400 Independence Ave., SW., 

Washington, DC, from 9 a.m. to noon 

and from 1 to 4 p.m., Monday through 

Friday (except official Federal holidays). 

Persons wanting to visit the USDA 

South building to view comments from 

the public to this notice are requested to 

make an appointment by calling (202) 

720–3252. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Toni 

Strother, Agricultural Marketing 

Specialist, National Organic Program 

(NOP), (202) 720–3252, 

NOP.guidance@ams.usda.gov, or visit 


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