[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 150 (Friday, August 2, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40362-40364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-19719]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 319

[Docket No. 95-082-1]


Importation of Cut Flowers

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend the cut flowers regulations by 
eliminating the import permit and notice of arrival requirements for 
imported cut flowers of camellia, gardenia, rhododendron, rose, and 
lilac. All cut flowers are routinely inspected upon arrival in the 
United States and, if necessary, fumigated. Cut flowers of camellia, 
gardenia, rhododendron, rose, and lilac appear to present no greater 
risk than other cut flowers of introducing plant pests, including 
serious plant diseases. We believe that this action would reduce 
barriers to trade and eliminate an unnecessary paperwork burden without 
increasing the risk of imported cut flowers introducing exotic plant 
pests into the United States.

DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or 
before September 3, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to 
Docket No. 95-082-1, 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. 95-082-1. 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: Mr. Peter M. Grosser, Senior Staff 
Officer, Port Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 139, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-8891.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations in 7 CFR part 319.74 through 319.74-7 (referred to 
below as ``the regulations'') govern the importation of certain cut 
flowers into the United States. These regulations, among other things, 
require that all cut flowers imported into the United States be 
inspected for serious plant pests and, if necessary, treated to 
eliminate any injurious plant pest. Sections 319.74-2a, 319.74-4, and 
319.74-5 of the regulations also provide that import shipments of cut 
flowers of camellia (Camellia spp.), gardenia (Gardenia spp.), 
rhododendron (Rhododendron spp. [including Azalea]), rose (Rosa spp.), 
and lilac (Syringa spp.) be accompanied by an import permit and that a 
notice of arrival be submitted to the Collector of Customs immediately 
after a shipment of these cut flowers arrives in the United States. 
Currently, no other varieties of cut flowers require an import permit 
or a notice of arrival when they are imported into the United States.
    In 1947, we determined that imported cut flowers of camellia, 
gardenia, rhododendron, rose, and lilac presented a special risk of 
introducing injurious insects and plant diseases when imported into the 
United States and, therefore, should be accompanied by an import permit 
and should be subject to notice of arrival requirements. However, based 
on our experience enforcing the regulations, we have since determined 
that the import permit and notice of arrival requirements are no longer 
necessary for these varieties of cut flowers. Instead, procedures 
standard to the importation of all varieties of cut flowers appear to 
be sufficient to mitigate the risk of camellia, gardenia, rhododendron, 
rose, and lilac introducing exotic plant pests into the United States.
    Our port inspectors are routinely notified of the arrival of 
imported cut flowers by examining a shipment's manifest or by receiving 
electronic correspondence from importers or shippers. After arrival at 
the port of entry in the United States, all cut flowers are routinely 
inspected for injurious insects, including agromyzids, and for symptoms 
of plant diseases by an inspector of the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS), and, if necessary, the cut flowers are 
treated in accordance with Sec. 319.74-3. We have determined that these 
standard procedures are sufficient to allow the safe importation of cut 
flowers of camellia, gardenia, rhododendron, rose, and lilac into the 
United States. Therefore, we are proposing to eliminate the import 
permit and notice of arrival requirements for imported cut flowers of 
camellia, gardenia, rhododendron, rose, and lilac. This action would 
reduce barriers to trade in cut flowers between the United States and 
other countries, in accordance with the General Agreement on Tariffs 
and Trade (GATT) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 
and would eliminate an unnecessary paperwork burden without increasing 
the risk of imported cut flowers introducing exotic plant pests, 
including plant diseases, into the United States.
    Because cut flowers of camellia, gardenia, rhododendron, rose, and 
lilac are the only varieties of cut flowers for which we require an 
import permit or notice of arrival, we are, therefore, proposing that 
all import permit and notice of arrival requirements, and all 
references to both, be removed from the regulations. If we remove the 
import permit requirement, APHIS will no longer need to confirm that an 
import permit has been issued for a shipment of cut flowers, and 
importers will no longer need to apply for import permits or seek 
renewels of import permits in order to import cut flowers into the 
United States. In addition, if we remove the notice of arrival 
requirement, there will be no need for importers to submit a notice of 
arrival to APHIS. These actions would save time and effort and would 
reduce the paperwork burden both for importers of cut flowers and for 
APHIS.
    We are also proposing to remove paragraph (c) of Sec. 319.74-2 in 
order to streamline the regulations and to make

[[Page 40363]]

the regulations consistent with the proposed changes in this document. 
By removing this paragraph, we would eliminate a provision that allows 
the Deputy Administrator of Plant Protection and Quarantine to deny 
certain importations of cut flowers into a State, Territory, or 
District of the United States by refusal of an import permit or by 
other means. Historically, this provision has not been utilized, and, 
if this proposed rule is adopted, this paragraph would no longer be 
necessary.
    We believe that these actions would simplify and streamline import 
procedures and make compliance easier while maintaining high standards 
for the prevention of the introduction of exotic plant pests into the 
United States. 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.
    We are proposing to eliminate the import permit and notice of 
arrival requirements for imported cut flowers of camellia, gardenia, 
rhododendron, rose, and lilac.
    The United States imported approximately $408 million worth of 
fresh cut flowers in 1994. Roses constitituted the largest category of 
fresh cut flowers imported into the United States in 1994, accounting 
for 36 percent of the total value.
    Although the United States imports cut flowers from many countries, 
in 1994, five countries represented approximately 92 percent of the 
total value of cut flowers imported into the United States. Colombia 
supplied the greatest percentage, 66 percent, of the total value of cut 
flowers imported into the United States in 1994, followed by The 
Netherlands with 13 percent, Ecuador with 6.4 percent, Costa Rica with 
3.7 percent, and Mexico with 3.3 percent. In 1994, four countries 
accounted for approximately 96.9 percent of the total value of rose 
imports into the United States; Colombia supplied the greatest 
percentage, 71.2 percent, of the total value, followed by Ecuador with 
13.6 percent, Mexico with 6.8 percent, and Guatemala with 5 percent.
    Entities in the United States that may be affected by this rule are 
U.S. producers, importers, and wholesalers of cut flowers. Of the 
estimated 1,409 producers of cut flowers in the United States, 
approximatly 85 percent are considered small entities. We do not expect 
that the volume of cut flowers imported into the United States will 
increase because of the proposed changes to the regulations, and, 
therefore, we expect little, if any, change in the market price of cut 
flowers of camellia, gardenia, rhododendron, rose, and lilac. As a 
result, we expect that the impact on domestic producers of these 
varieties of cut flowers would be insignificant.
    At this time, we cannot determine the number of importers of cut 
flowers. However, we do not expect our proposed changes to affect the 
supply of cut flower importations, and, therefore, we expect any 
changes in costs or competition of the importation of cut flowers of 
camellia, gardenia, rhododendron, rose, and lilac to be insignificant. 
As a result, we anticipate that the effect on domestic importers of cut 
flowers of camellia, gardenia, rhododendron, rose, and lilac would be 
insignificant.
    Of the estimated 3,043 wholesalers of cut flowers, approximately 96 
percent are considered small entities. We do not expect that the volume 
of cut flowers imported into the United States will increase, and, 
therefore, we do not expect the price of cut flowers to be affected by 
the changes we are proposing. As a result, we expect that the effect of 
the proposed changes on wholesalers of imported cut flowers of 
camellia, gardenia, rhododendron, rose, and lilac would be 
insignificant.
    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 12988

    This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
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.). Further, this proposed rule would reduce 
information collection or recordkeeping requirements in 7 CFR 319.74 
from 10,495 hours to 10,036 hours.

Regulatory Reform

    This action is part of the President's Regulatory Reform 
Initiative, which, among other things, directs agencies to remove 
obsolete and unnecessary regulations and to find less burdensome ways 
to achieve regulatory goals.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319

    Bees, Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Honey, Imports, Incorporation by 
reference, Nursery stock, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Rice, Vegetables.

    Accordingly, 7 CFR part 319 would be amended to read as follows:

PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES

    1. The authority citation for part 319 would continue to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 151-167, 450, 2803, and 
2809; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).


Sec. 319.74-1  [Amended]

    2. In Sec. 319.74-1, paragraph (c) would be removed.


Sec. 319.74-2  [Amended]

    3. Section 319.74-2 would be amended as follows:
    a. By removing paragraph (b).
    b. By removing paragraph (c).
    c. By removing the designation ``(a)'' preceding the first 
paragraph.


Sec. 319.74-2a  [Removed]

    4. Section 319.74-2a would be removed.


Sec. 319.74-3  [Amended]

    5. Section 319.74-3 would be amended as follows:
    a. By removing paragraph (b).
    b. By redesignating paragraphs (c) and (d) as paragraphs (b) and 
(c), respectively.
    c. In paragraph (a), in the first sentence, by removing the words 
``imported from the named foreign countries and localities, whether or 
not subject to permit requirements,''.
    d. In paragraph (a), in the second sentence, by removing the 
reference ``(d)'' and adding in its place the reference ``(c)''.


Sec. 319.74-4  [Removed]

    6. Section 319.74-4 and footnote 1 would be removed.


Sec. 319.74-5  [Removed]

    7. Section 319.74-5 would be removed.


Sec. 319.74-6  [Redesignated]

    8. Section 319.74-6 would be redesignated as Sec. 319.74-4.

[[Page 40364]]

Sec. 319.74-7  [Removed]

    9. Section 319.74-7 would be removed.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of July 1996.
Terry L. Medley,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 96-19719 Filed 8-1-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P