[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 141 (Monday, July 23, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38137-38139]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-18299]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 141 / Monday, July 23, 2001 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 38137]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 319

[Docket No. 00-119-1]


Importation of Nursery Stock, Plants, Roots, Bulbs, Seeds, and 
Other Plant Products; Phytosanitary Certificates

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Policy statement.

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SUMMARY: This document gives notice that we intend to begin 
consistently and routinely enforcing an existing requirement that a 
phytosanitary certificate of inspection accompany restricted articles, 
other than certain greenhouse-grown plants from Canada, that are 
offered for importation into the United States under our foreign 
quarantine regulations for nursery stock, plants, roots, bulbs, seeds, 
and other plant products. While the regulations provide that a 
phytosanitary certificate must accompany such items, this provision has 
not been consistently enforced with regard to all shipments of 
restricted articles arriving at U.S. ports of entry. Therefore, we are 
providing this notification to alert affected importers and members of 
the public that we intend to enforce this provision on a consistent, 
uniform basis. This action is necessary in order to more effectively 
mitigate the risk of introduction of foreign plant pests associated 
with the importation of these commodities into the United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 21, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James Petit de Mange, CITES and 
Plant Inspection Station Coordinator, Port Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 60, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-8295.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations in 7 CFR part 319 prohibit or restrict the 
importation into the United States of certain plants and plant products 
to prevent the introduction of plant pests into the United States. The 
regulations contained in ``Subpart Nursery Stock, Plants, Roots, Bulbs, 
Seeds, and Other Plant Products,'' Secs. 319.37 through 319.37-14 
(referred to below as the regulations), prohibit or restrict, among 
other things, the importation of living plants, plant parts, and seeds 
for propagation.
    Nursery stock, plants, and other propagative plant material that 
cannot be feasibly inspected, treated, or handled to prevent them from 
introducing plant pests new to or not known to be widely prevalent in 
or distributed within and throughout the United States are listed in 
the regulations as prohibited articles. Prohibited articles may not be 
imported into the United States, unless imported by the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture (USDA) for experimental or scientific purposes under 
specified safeguards.
    Nursery stock, plants, and other propagative plant material that 
can be inspected, treated, or handled to prevent them from spreading 
plant pests are listed in the regulations as restricted articles. 
Restricted articles may be imported into the United States if they are 
imported in compliance with conditions that may include permit and 
phytosanitary certificate requirements, inspection, treatment, or 
postentry quarantine.
    Paragraph (a) of Sec. 319.37-4 of the regulations requires that any 
restricted article offered for importation into the United States, 
other than certain greenhouse-grown plants from Canada, be accompanied 
by a phytosanitary certificate of inspection (phytosanitary 
certificate). Section 319.37-1 of the regulations defines a 
phytosanitary certificate as a document relating to a restricted 
article, which is issued by a plant protection official of the country 
in which the restricted article was grown, which is issued not more 
than 15 days prior to shipment of the restricted article from the 
country in which grown, which is addressed to the plant protection 
service of the United States (Plant Protection and Quarantine 
Programs), which contains a description of the restricted article 
intended to be imported into the United States, which certifies that 
the article has been thoroughly inspected, is believed to be free from 
injurious plant diseases, injurious insect pests, and other plant 
pests, and is otherwise believed to be eligible for importation 
pursuant to the current phytosanitary laws and regulations of the 
United States, and which contains any specific additional declarations 
required under the regulations.
    A phytosanitary certificate documents the origin of the shipment 
and ensures inspection in the country of origin by a member of the 
national plant protection organization, thus helping to ensure the 
shipment of clean commodities. Phytosanitary certificates are governed 
under the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), a 
multilateral treaty which is acknowledged by the World Trade 
Organization in the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures as the source for international standards for 
phytosanitary measures affecting trade.
    Phytosanitary certificates are recognized as an internationally 
accepted form of pest risk mitigation. Pest risk mitigation at the 
place of origin is often viewed as the most viable means of preventing 
the introduction of plant pests. Signatories to the IPPC, which include 
the United States and over 100 other countries, agree that pest risk 
mitigation is a responsibility of the exporting country, and that they 
are willing and able to issue phytosanitary certificates.
    To date, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has 
not consistently and routinely enforced the phytosanitary certificate 
requirement in Sec. 319.37-4 in all instances involving the importation 
of restricted articles under the regulations. Until now, our policy has 
been not to reject a shipment based solely on the lack of a 
phytosanitary certificate. We have enforced the requirement that a 
phytosanitary certificate accompany shipments of restricted articles in 
those situations where our regulations require that the phytosanitary 
certificate include an additional declaration, proof of treatment, or 
both. In other cases, our policy has provided APHIS inspectors the 
latitude to allow entry of the shipment, even though it is not

[[Page 38138]]

accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate.

Growth in Plant and Seed Trade

    In recent years, the amount of nursery stock, plants, and other 
propagative plant material imported into the United States has grown 
dramatically. For example, based on APHIS records, over 694 million 
plants were imported into the United States in FY 1999, compared to 456 
million plants in FY 1993. Seed imports into the United States have 
increased from 8.7 million kilograms in FY 1997 to 12 million kilograms 
in FY 1999. Based on Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States 
(FATUS) data, the value of nursery stock, plants, and bulbs imported 
into the United States increased, in 1999 dollars, by 89 percent, from 
approximately $275 million in 1990 to $520 million in 1999. The above 
data for nursery stock, plants, and bulbs include certain greenhouse-
grown plants from Canada, some of which are not subject to the 
phytosanitary requirement described in this notice. The value of seed 
imports over the same 1990 through 1993 period increased, in 1999 
dollars, by 144 percent, from approximately $188 million to $459 
million. The increased value of imports of these products coming from 
some of the United States' principal trading partners and regions is 
shown in Table 1.

 Table 1.--Value of U.S. Imports of Nursery Stock and Seed From Major Trading Partners and Regions, in 1990 and
                                         1999, Expressed in 1999 Dollars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                    Percentage
                                                                   1990 million    1999 million     increase in
                             Region                                   dollars         dollars     imports,  1990-
                                                                                                       1999
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nursery Stock, Bulbs, etc.
    Asia........................................................          $17.19           31.14              81
    Canada......................................................           94.17          234.35             149
    European Union..............................................          128.03          187.30              46
    Latin America...............................................           27.71           49.03              77
    Mexico......................................................            7.41           13.65              84
Seeds--Field and Garden:
    Asia........................................................           57.59          100.09              74
    Canada......................................................           49.01           94.29              92
    European Union..............................................           29.29           65.95             125
    Latin America...............................................           37.42          173.99             365
    Mexico......................................................            6.36           14.23            124
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: FATUS, USDA ERS. 1990 values are expressed in 1999 dollars, using a CPI inflation factor of 1.2821.

    Just as important as the increased amounts of nursery stock, 
plants, and other propagative plant material being imported into the 
United States, more varieties and types of these commodities are being 
shipped here from a greater number of foreign regions as a result of 
improved transportation modes and technologies, as well as the general 
movement towards a more globalized marketplace.
    The expanded trade in these commodities has placed a greater demand 
on APHIS' inspection services. It has also presented us with new 
challenges in better understanding the pest complexes and potential 
pest risks associated with the importation of these commodities from a 
wider variety of sources. Consequently, our need for verifiable 
information as to the place of origin, as provided in a phytosanitary 
certificate, has become vital with respect to each shipment of nursery 
stock, plants, and other propagative plant material offered for 
importation into the United States.

Safeguarding Report

    In 1998, we asked the National Plant Board (NPB) to review our 
efforts to safeguard American agriculture and plant resources. The NPB 
assembled 43 stakeholders from States, industry, academe, and 
environmental groups to conduct extensive research, interviews, site 
visits, and other interactions with APHIS and its stakeholders, and to 
prepare a thorough analysis of the challenges facing the safeguarding 
system. The 1999 report, ``Safeguarding American Plant Resources, A 
Stakeholder Review of the APHIS-PPQ Safeguarding System,''\1\ evaluates 
APHIS' pest exclusion measures, international pest information systems, 
use of permits, and detection and response efforts. The report also 
provides a number of recommendations and action plans for improving 
APHIS' safeguarding efforts. Among its recommendations, the report 
urges APHIS to more vigorously pursue offshore pest mitigation 
measures, including the use of phytosanitary certificates consistent 
with the IPPC, as a means of supplementing its existing inspection 
efforts at U.S. ports of entry.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The Safeguarding Report is available upon written request 
from the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. It is 
also available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/safeguarding.
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Change in Policy

    In light of the increased quantities, types of articles, and 
sources of nursery stock, plants, and other propagative plant material 
offered for importation into the United States, coupled with the 
findings of the Safeguarding Report, which advocates greater use of 
offshore mitigating measures such as phytosanitary certificates, we 
have reevaluated our current policy of selective enforcement of the 
phytosanitary certificate requirement in Sec. 319.37-4(a). We have 
decided that it is necessary for us to enforce the phytosanitary 
certificate requirement provided in Sec. 319.37-4(a) on a consistent, 
mandatory basis with respect to all restricted articles offered for 
importation into the United States in order to effectively mitigate the 
risk of those articles introducing foreign plant pests into the United 
States.

Analysis

    This policy statement does not entail new regulatory requirements. 
Rather, its purpose is to inform importers and the general public that 
we will enforce an existing phytosanitary certificate requirement on a 
mandatory, consistent basis, which is a change from our previous 
policy. Importers and members of the general public will not be allowed 
to import restricted nursery stock, plants, or other propagative plant 
material into the United States without

[[Page 38139]]

an accompanying phytosanitary certificate.
    Phytosanitary certificates must be obtained from an official agency 
of the country where the goods originate. Typically, the commodity to 
be imported must be inspected by a plant protection official of the 
foreign country, who must certify where in the country of origin the 
restricted article was grown or acquired its phytosanitary status and 
state that the shipment is free of injurious plant diseases and plant 
pests. The certifying country usually charges a fee for these services. 
The actual fee varies from country to country and is based solely on 
the criteria that the issuing country deems appropriate. As points of 
reference, Canada charges C$17 Canadian dollars ($11.25US) and Mexico 
charges 244 Mexican new pesos ($24.86US). Costs associated with 
shipment certification that result from this notice are costs that may 
not have been borne previously, only because phytosanitary certificate 
requirements have not been regularly and uniformly enforced.
    The percentage of restricted nursery stock, plants, and other 
propagative plant material that currently enters the United States 
without phytosanitary certification is not known. We do not maintain 
such data. However, based on our own informal observations at ports of 
entry, we believe that the vast majority of imported commercial plant 
and seed shipments are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate. We 
have found that phytosanitary certificates are more likely to be absent 
in small shipments imported by tourists, hobbyists, homeowners, small 
businesses, or importers who are newcomers to the plant trade. 
Mandatory, consistent enforcement of the phytosanitary certification 
requirement for all restricted nursery stock, plants, and other 
propagative plant material imported into the United States will help 
minimize the plant pest risks associated with these imports without 
subjecting affected importers and members of the general public to any 
costs that they are not already expected to bear.
    Therefore, we intend to begin consistently enforcing, in accordance 
with Sec. 319.37-4(a), the requirement that a phytosanitary certificate 
must accompany all shipments of restricted articles imported into the 
United States, except for certain greenhouse-grown plants from Canada.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 166, 450, 7711-7714, 7718, 7731, 7732, and 
7751-7754; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 17th day of July 2001.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 01-18299 Filed 7-20-01; 8:45 am]
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