[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10334-10335]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4592]



 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 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.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 37 / Friday, February 24, 1995 / 
Proposed Rules  
[[Page 10334]]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

7 CFR Part 6


Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota Licensing

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, USDA.

ACTION: Public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture will hold a public hearing on 
March 10, 1995, to permit interested persons to present their views and 
comments on changes to the Import Regulation on dairy products subject 
to import licensing.

DATES: The hearing will be held on March 10, 1995, at 9:30 a.m. 
Interested persons wishing to testify at the hearing must make a 
written request to testify to the address indicated below by noon on 
March 8, 1995. Following the hearing, persons may submit written 
rebuttal statements to the address indicated below by noon March 17, 
1995.

ADDRESSES: The hearing will be held in Room 107, Administration 
Building, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 14th and Independence 
Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C.
    Address requests to testify 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, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250 1000. Requests to 
testify may also to be submitted to Mr. Warsack via FAX, (202) 720-
6556.
    All written material received in response to this notice will be 
available for public inspection in Room 5531, South Building, 14th and 
Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 
p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diana Wanamaker, Group Leader, Import 
Programs Group, Import Policies and Programs Division, Room 5531-A, 
Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 14th and 
Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-1000, or telephone (202) 
720-2916.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the request to testify, the following 
information must be provided: name, address, telephone number, and firm 
or affiliation of each witness. Testimony at the hearing will be 
limited to 10 minutes. Written rebuttal statements must be in English 
and should be strictly limited to demonstrating errors of fact or 
analysis not pointed out in the hearing, and should be as concise as 
possible.
    Certain cheese and non-cheese dairy products may only be imported 
into the United States by or for the account of a person or firm to 
whom an import license has been issued by the Department of Agriculture 
(the Department) and only in accordance with the terms and conditions 
of a license issued pursuant to Import Regulation 1, Revision 7 (7 CFR 
6.20-6.34) (Import Regulation), and the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States (HTS). On June 2, 1994, an Advanced Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) was published in the Federal Register that 
the Department was considering revising the Import Regulation to 
implement commitments undertaken by the United States under the Uruguay 
Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations and to make various changes. 
The comment period on the ANPR concluded on August 1, 1994. The 
Department received 44 submissions which provided a wide range of views 
including methods of allocating licenses for imported dairy products 
and suggestions on various other changes intended to update and 
strengthen the Import Regulation. The Department is scheduling a public 
hearing for the presentation of views and comments by interested 
persons with respect to the ANPR.
    As described in the ANPR, the Import Regulation provided for the 
issuance of licenses to importers of certain dairy products which were 
subject to import quotas proclaimed by the President pursuant to 
section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, as amended (7 
U.S.C. 624) (Section 22). The absolute quotas on dairy products 
pursuant to Section 22 were converted to tariff-rate quotas under the 
HTS on January 1, 1995 under Presidential Proclamation 6763 of December 
23, 1994 which implemented trade agreements resulting from the Uruguay 
Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations. That Proclamation also 
allocated the in-quota quantity of dairy products subject to tariff-
rate quotas among supplying countries. The importation of most dairy 
products subject to the in-quota tariff rates will be administered by 
the Department through a licensing system in accordance with the Import 
Regulation. The Department published an Interim Rule in the Federal 
Register on January 6, 1995, which amended the Import Regulation to 
make import licensing applicable to the quantities of dairy products 
subject to in-quota tariff rates as of January 1, 1995 under the HTS 
including quantities of dairy products that had been subject to quotas 
under Section 22 and new quantities negotiated in the Uruguay Round for 
the 1995 quota year. The Interim Rule also established eligibility 
standards for non-cheese dairy products to ensure that licenses are 
granted to commercial operations importing, exporting, or manufacturing 
dairy products, and established a rank-order lottery system for non-
cheese dairy products. Butter substitutes and butteroil were made 
subject to licensing in view of the significant increase in the 
quantities of these products which may enter at the in-quota tariff 
rate. The Interim Rule amended the Import Regulation to implement the 
U.S. Uruguay Round commitments, but did not include fundamental changes 
in the operation of the administration of the import licensing system 
set forth in the Import Regulation as envisaged in the ANPR.
    At this time, the Department is considering the broader fundamental 
changes to the Import Regulation as envisaged in the ANPR. The 
Department will conduct a public hearing to permit interested parties 
to orally present their views, suggestions, and concerns on changes to 
the provisions of the Import Regulation including modifications, 
revisions, and updating with respect to: definitions, eligibility 
requirements, transfer of eligibility, allocation of annual in-quota 
tariff-rate quantities, issuance of licenses, issuance of ex-quota 
permits, sales in-transmit, record and inspection, suspension and 
revocation procedures, and amendments to the Import Regulations 
implemented in the Interim Rule. Interested persons are encouraged to 
present testimony on proposed changes as well as any other 
[[Page 10335]] comments that they may feel appropriate.

    Signed at Washington, D.C., the 16th day of February, 1995.
R.E. Rominger,
Acting Secretary of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 95-4592 Filed 2-23-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-10-P