[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 194 (Friday, October 4, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51769-51771]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-25503]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 194 / Friday, October 4, 1996 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 51769]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
9 CFR Part 94
[Docket No. 96-027-2]
Change in Disease Status of the Czech Republic and Italy Because
of Rinderpest and Foot-and-Mouth Disease
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: We are declaring the Czech Republic and Italy free of
rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease and adding these two countries to
the list of countries that, although declared free of rinderpest and
foot-and-mouth disease, are subject to special restrictions on the
importation of their meat and other animal products into the United
States. This rule removes the prohibition on the importation into the
United States, from the Czech Republic and Italy, of live ruminants and
fresh, chilled, and frozen meat from ruminants and relieves
restrictions on the importation of milk and milk products from
ruminants from these two countries. However, because the Czech Republic
and Italy are not declared to be free of certain diseases of swine,
including hog cholera and swine vesicular disease, the importation from
these countries of swine and fresh, chilled, and frozen meat from swine
continues to be restricted.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 21, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. John Cougill, Staff Veterinarian,
Products Program, National Center for Import and Export, VS, APHIS,
4700 River Road Unit 40, Riverdale, MD 20737-1228, (301) 734-3399.
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 diseases, including rinderpest, foot-and-
mouth disease (FMD), bovine spongiform encephalopathy, African swine
fever, hog cholera, and swine vesicular disease. These are dangerous
and destructive communicable diseases of ruminants and swine.
Section 94.1(a)(1) of the regulations provides that rinderpest or
FMD exists in all countries of the world except those listed in
Sec. 94.1(a)(2), which have been declared to be free of these diseases.
We will consider declaring a country to be free of rinderpest and FMD
if, among other things, there have been no cases of these diseases
reported there for at least the previous 1-year period and no
vaccinations for rinderpest or FMD have been administered to swine or
ruminants in that country for at least the previous 1-year period.
On July 9, 1996, we published in the Federal Register (61 FR 35987-
35990, Docket No. 96-027-1) a proposal to amend the regulations by
adding the Czech Republic and Italy to the list in Sec. 94.1(a)(2) of
countries declared free of rinderpest and FMD and to the list in
Sec. 94.11(a) of countries that are declared free of rinderpest and FMD
but that are subject to special restrictions on the importation of
their meat and other animal products into the United States. The
proposal would remove the prohibition on the importation into the
United States, from the Czech Republic and Italy, of live ruminants and
fresh, chilled, and frozen meat from ruminants and would relieve
restrictions on the importation, from these two countries, of milk and
milk products from ruminants.
We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending
September 9, 1996. 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 into the United States, from the Czech
Republic and Italy, of live ruminants and fresh, chilled, or frozen
meat from ruminants and relieves restrictions on the importation, from
these two countries, of milk and milk products from ruminants. We have
determined that approximately 2 weeks are needed to ensure that the
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 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 rule alters the restrictions placed upon imports of live
ruminants and meat, meat products, and dairy products derived from
ruminants from the Czech Republic and Italy. The regulations in 9 CFR
part 94 describe prohibited and restricted importations due to
rinderpest, FMD, and other animal diseases. APHIS has determined that
the Czech Republic and Italy meet the criteria for being recognized as
free of rinderpest and FMD. However, because the Czech Republic and
Italy share land borders and maintain trading relationships with FMD-
affected countries, imports into the United States of live ruminants
and meat, meat products, and dairy products derived from ruminants from
the Czech Republic and Italy continue to be restricted under this rule.
The rule does not relieve any restrictions imposed on the importation
of swine and pork products because the Czech Republic and Italy are
still considered to be affected with hog cholera and swine vesicular
disease, and Italy is also considered to be affected with African swine
fever.
[[Page 51770]]
We anticipate that the quantity of imports of live cattle, sheep,
and goats from the Czech Republic and Italy into the United States will
be minimally affected by the rule. Live cattle imports will still be
restricted due to the trade practices of the Czech Republic and Italy
and the fact that these countries share land borders with FMD-affected
countries. In addition, the cattle industries in the Czech Republic and
Italy are small relative to the enormous domestic market. Cattle
inventories for 1994 were estimated to be 2.5 million head for the
Czech Republic, 7.5 million head for Italy, and over 100 million head
for the United States. Also, of the 2.5 million cattle and calves
imported into the United States in 1994, more than 99 percent were from
Canada and Mexico.
The population of sheep and goats in the Czech Republic is also
very small relative to that of the United States (less than 2.5 percent
of the size of the U.S. population in 1993). Italy has a sheep
population that is slightly higher than that of the United States (11.7
million head in Italy and 10.9 million head in the United States in
1993). However, Italy is a strong net importer of sheep and goats
(190,556 head imported and only 1,450 exported in 1993), while the
United States is a strong net exporter of sheep and goats (28,420 head
imported and 894,100 head exported in 1993). Of the few sheep that the
United States does import, more than 99 percent are from Canada and
Mexico.
The Czech Republic exports few live ruminants to the United States.
In 1994, less than 0.0001 percent of the total value of total U.S.
imports of live ruminants were from the Czech Republic. Italy exported
no live ruminants to the United States in 1994. In fact, the United
States did not import any cattle or sheep from the European Union in
1994. Neither Eastern nor Western Europe are usual sources of live
ruminants for the United States, and any increase in ruminant
importations from the Czech Republic or Italy prompted by this rule are
likely to be negligible. Therefore, the impact on small domestic
farmers of cattle, sheep, and goats is likely to be minimal.
Czech production of beef, veal, mutton, and goat meat in 1994 was
about 2 percent of the size of U.S. production. Italian production of
beef, veal, mutton, and goat meat in 1994 was about 1.2 million metric
tons, or about 11 percent of the U.S. production of 11.3 million metric
tons. The United States imports very little in the way of ruminant meat
and ruminant meat products from Eastern or Western Europe in general.
Moreover, more than 88 percent of the imports of ruminant meat and
ruminant meat products that come into the United States are from
Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. It is unlikely that either the
Czech Republic or Italy will be willing or able to redirect a
significant portion of its ruminant meat production for export
exclusively to the United States as a result of the rule, given that
restrictions remain in place for imports into the United States. Even
if the Czech Republic were able to redirect its entire production of
these products for export to the United States, this production was
only one-fifth the size of total U.S. imports of these products in
1994. Moreover, Italy is a significant net importer of beef, veal,
mutton, and other products such as offal and meat extracts. Therefore,
any effect of the rule on domestic prices or supplies is likely to be
negligible, and thus the impact on small domestic producers will be
minimal.
We also anticipate that the effect of the rule on the importation
of dairy products from the Czech Republic and Italy will be minimal.
Czech production of dairy products is small relative to that of the
United States. In 1993, Czech dairy product production was about 5
percent of the value of U.S. production. The United States imports
little in the way of dairy products from the Czech Republic or from
Eastern Europe in general. In 1994, U.S. imports of dairy products were
valued at $963.4 million; of this total, less than 5 percent originated
in Eastern Europe and less than 0.1 percent in the Czech Republic. The
Czech Republic is a significant producer and exporter of butter.
However, butter is already exempt from the provisions of 9 CFR part 94
and thus will be unaffected by the rule. For dairy products in general,
Italy is a significant net importer and not likely to be willing or
able to redirect a significant portion of its production exclusively to
the United States, which is a significant net exporter. Italy's major
dairy export to the United States is cheese. Because solid cheeses are
already exempt from the provisions of 9 CFR part 94, there is no reason
to believe that imports of cheese will increase significantly due to
this rule. For these reasons and given the fact that restrictions will
remain in place, it is unlikely that the rule will significantly alter
imports of dairy products into the United States. Therefore, the impact
on small domestic dairy producers should be minimal.
Any effects of the rule on importers of embryos, semen, other
genetic material, or breeding animals is also likely to be minimal. We
anticipate that, after the rule becomes effective, there could be an
initial increase in the volume of these products flowing into the
United States to diversify the genetic composition of domestic cattle.
(In particular, there has been a great deal of interest expressed in
obtaining genetic material of beef cattle from Italy.) However, any
temporary increase in volume will most likely be small relative to
total U.S. imports of these products. The United States is a net
exporter of both bovine semen and cattle embryos. In 1994, the value of
U.S. bovine semen and cattle embryo imports was $4.3 million and
$266,000, respectively, while U.S. exports of bovine semen and cattle
embryos were valued at $7.9 million and $6.4 million, respectively.
Given this trade balance and the size differences between the U.S. and
Czech and Italian cattle industries, the amount imported of each type
of genetic material is likely to be minimal and have a minimal impact
on small domestic cattle producers.
In conclusion, declaring the Czech Republic and Italy free of
rinderpest and FMD will likely have a negligible impact on domestic
small entities. Imports from the Czech Republic and Italy of ruminants
and ruminant products continue to be restricted. In addition, the U.S.
markets for these products are large relative to the Czech and Italian
markets, and Italy is a net importer of most of these products. Under
these conditions, it is unlikely that either the Czech Republic or
Italy will be willing or able to redirect a significant portion of the
production of these products exclusively to the United States.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12988
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws and
regulations that are inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no
retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings
before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information collection or
recordkeeping requirements included in this final rule have been
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The
[[Page 51771]]
assigned OMB control number is 0579-0015.
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 is 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 continues 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. 94.1 [Amended]
2. In Sec. 94.1, paragraph (a)(2) is amended by adding the words
``Czech Republic,'' immediately after the words ``Costa Rica,'' and by
adding the word ``Italy,'' immediately after the word ``Ireland,''.
Sec. 94.11 [Amended]
3. In Sec. 94.11, the first sentence in paragraph (a) is amended by
adding the words ``Czech Republic,'' immediately after the word
``Chile,'' and by adding the word ``Italy,'' immediately after the word
``Hungary,''.
Done in Washington, DC, this 30th day of September 1996.
A. Strating,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 96-25503 Filed 10-3-96; 8:45 am]
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