[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 37 (Friday, February 23, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6955-6956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4147]



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

  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 1996 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 6955]]


DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 94

[Docket No. 95-093-1]


Pork and Pork Products From Mexico Transiting the United States

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: We are proposing to allow fresh, chilled, and frozen pork and 
pork products from the Mexican State of Yucatan to transit the United 
States, under certain conditions, for export to another country. 
Currently, we allow such pork and pork products from the Mexican States 
of Sonora and Chihuahua to transit the United States for export. 
Otherwise, fresh, chilled, or frozen pork and pork products are 
prohibited movement into the United States from Mexico because of hog 
cholera in Mexico. Yucatan, like Sonora and Chihuahua, appears to be a 
low risk area for hog cholera, and we believe that fresh, chilled, and 
frozen pork and pork products from Yucatan could transit the United 
States with minimal risk of introducing hog cholera. This action would 
facilitate trade.

DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or 
before April 23, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to 
Docket No. 95-093-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, 
suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please 
state that your comments refer to Docket No. 95-093-1. Comments 
received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th 
Street and Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to 
inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to 
facilitate entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Michael David, Senior Staff 
Veterinarian, Import/Export Animals, National Center for Import and 
Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 39, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231, 
(301) 734-5097.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations in 9 CFR part 94 (referred to below as the 
regulations) prohibit or restrict the importation of certain animals 
and animal products into the United States to prevent the introduction 
of certain animal diseases. Section 94.9 of the regulations prohibits 
the importation of pork and pork products into the United States from 
countries where hog cholera exists, unless the pork or pork products 
have been treated in one of several ways, all of which involve heating 
or curing and drying.
    Because hog cholera exists in Mexico, pork and pork products from 
Mexico must meet the requirements of Sec. 94.9 to be imported into the 
United States. However, under Sec. 94.15, pork and pork products that 
are from certain Mexican States and that are not eligible for entry 
into the United States in accordance with the regulations may transit 
the United States for immediate export if certain conditions are met. 
This provision was added to the regulations in 1992, following a United 
States Department of Agriculture investigation of the hog cholera 
situation in Sonora, Mexico, and a determination that pork and pork 
products from Sonora could transit the United States, under certain 
conditions, with minimal risk of introducing hog cholera. The Mexican 
State of Chihuahua was included in this provision in a final rule 
published in the Federal Register on November 15, 1995 (60 FR 57313-
57315, Docket No. 95-037-2).
    Mexico's Director of Animal Health has requested that we allow pork 
and pork products from the Mexican State of Yucatan to transit the 
United States for export under the same conditions that currently apply 
to pork and pork products from Sonora and Chihuahua. In response, 
officials of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) met 
recently in Yucatan with Mexican representatives knowledgeable in 
disease prevention, epidemiology, and diagnostic methods. The team 
reviewed the hog cholera situation in Yucatan (discussed below) and 
recommended granting Mexico's request.
    The last outbreak of hog cholera in the Mexican State of Yucatan 
occurred in 1982. Vaccination for hog cholera was discontinued in 1993. 
Mexico officially recognized Yucatan as free of hog cholera in April 
1995.
    The team found two factors contributing to Yucatan's apparent 
success in remaining free of hog cholera: Yucatan's location and 
controls by the Division of Animal Health on the movement into Yucatan 
of pork, pork products, and live swine.
    Yucatan is located in a fairly isolated position at the tip of a 
peninsula, surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico to the north, the Mexican 
State of Campeche to the southwest, and the Mexican State of Quintana 
Roo to the southeast. Campeche is in the control phase of its hog 
cholera program, in which swine are still being vaccinated for the 
disease. Quintana Roo is in the eradication phase of its hog cholera 
program, in which no cases of hog cholera have been detected for at 
least 12 months and a prohibition on vaccination for hog cholera has 
been instituted.
    As required by the Mexican Government, Yucatan and other States 
recognized by Mexico as free of hog cholera may only import live swine 
and pork from other hog cholera-free States and countries. The Mexican 
Government requires shipments from hog cholera-free countries to be 
accompanied by a certificate of origin issued by that country's 
veterinary authorities and by a certificate of import issued by the 
Mexican veterinary authorities. Yucatan and other States recognized by 
Mexico as being free of hog cholera also require and issue their own 
permits and health certificates, further ensuring the origin of 
imported products. In addition, live swine and pork imported into these 
hog cholera-free States must be shipped in sealed trucks, and all 
shipments are inspected at inspection stations located either on State 
lines or at international ports of entry.
    Under these circumstances, we believe that there would be little, 
if any, risk of introducing hog cholera into the United States by 
allowing pork and pork products from Yucatan to transit the 

[[Page 6956]]
United States for export under the same conditions that currently apply 
to pork and pork products from Sonora and Chihuahua.
    These conditions will be as follows:
    1. Any person wishing to transport pork or pork products from 
Yucatan through the United States for export must first obtain a permit 
for importation from APHIS. The application for the permit tells APHIS 
who will be involved in the transportation, how much and what type of 
pork and pork products will be transported, when they will be 
transported, and the method and route of shipment.
    2. The pork or pork products must be sealed in Yucatan in a 
leakproof container, with a serially numbered seal approved by APHIS. 
The container must remain sealed at all times while transiting the 
United States.
    3. The person moving the pork or pork products through the United 
States must inform the APHIS officer at the United States port of 
arrival, in writing, of the following information before the pork or 
pork products arrive in the United States: The times and dates that the 
pork or pork products are expected at the port of arrival in the United 
States, the time schedule and route of the shipments through the United 
States, and the permit number and serial numbers of the seals on the 
containers.
    4. The pork or pork products must transit the United States under 
Customs bond.
    5. The pork or pork products must be exported from the United 
States within the time period specified on the permit.
    Any pork or pork products exceeding the time limit specified on the 
permit or transiting in violation of any of the requirements of the 
permit or the regulations may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of at 
the discretion of the Administrator, APHIS, pursuant to section 2 of 
the Act of February 2, 1903, as amended (21 U.S.C. 111).
    We believe that applying these same safeguards to shipments of pork 
and pork products from Yucatan would prevent tampering with the 
shipments, ensure that the shipments actually leave the United States, 
and otherwise ensure that shipments would not present a risk of 
introducing hog cholera. Therefore, we are proposing to amend 
Sec. 94.15 to allow pork and pork products from the Mexican State of 
Yucatan to transit the United States for export under the same 
conditions that currently apply to pork and pork products from Sonora 
and Chihuahua.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. 
The rule has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of 
Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the 
Office of Management and Budget.
    This proposed rule would allow fresh, chilled, and frozen pork and 
pork products from the Mexican State of Yucatan to transit the United 
States, under certain conditions, for export to another country. It has 
been determined that Yucatan is a low risk area for hog cholera and has 
the veterinary infrastructure necessary to monitor for the presence of 
the disease.
    There appears to be little risk of hog cholera exposure from 
shipments of pork and pork products from Yucatan transiting the United 
States. Assuming that proper risk management techniques continue to be 
applied in Mexico, and that accident and exposure risk would be 
minimized by proper handling during transport, the risk of exposure to 
hog cholera from pork in transit from Mexico through the United States 
would be minimal.
    Shipments of pork and pork products from Yucatan transiting the 
United States would most likely be ocean shipments to Miami with final 
destinations in the Caribbean and South America. Because no overland 
transit of pork and pork products through the United States would be 
expected as a result of this rulemaking, no increase in United States 
trucking or other United States-based economic activity would be 
expected.
    Both the United States and Mexico are net pork importers. United 
States pork imports represent approximately 2 to 3 percent of 
production, and Mexican imports represent 7 to 8 percent of production. 
With favorable income growth expected in Mexico due to trade 
liberalization, meat imports, including pork products, are expected to 
grow and limit Mexican pork exports. However, facilitating export 
opportunities for the Mexican pork industry may provide incentives for 
continued efforts to eradicate hog cholera from infected Mexican 
States.
    Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.

Executive Order 12778

    This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, 
Civil Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is adopted: (1) All State 
and local laws and regulations that are inconsistent with this rule 
will be preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will be given to this 
rule; and (3) administrative proceedings will not be required before 
parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed rule contains no new information collection or 
recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 94

    Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock, Meat and meat products, Milk, 
Poultry and poultry products, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Accordingly, 9 CFR part 94 would be amended as follows:

PART 94--RINDERPEST, FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE, FOWL PEST (FOWL 
PLAGUE), VELOGENIC VISCEROTROPIC NEWCASTLE DISEASE, AFRICAN SWINE 
FEVER, HOG CHOLERA, AND BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY; 
PROHIBITED AND RESTRICTED IMPORTATIONS

    1. The authority citation for part 94 would continue to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 147a, 150ee, 161, 162, and 450; 19 U.S.C. 
1306; 21 U.S.C. 111, 114a, 134a, 134b, 134c, 134f, 136, and 136a; 31 
U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 4331 and 4332; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 
371.2(d).


Sec. 94.15  [Amended]

    2. In Sec. 94.15, paragraph (b), the introductory text and 
paragraph (b)(2) would be amended by removing the words ``Chihuahua or 
Sonora'' and adding the words ``Chihuahua, Sonora, or Yucatan'' in 
their place.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 20th day of February 1996.
Terry L. Medley,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 96-4147 Filed 2-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P