[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 106 (Tuesday, June 3, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33028-33030]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-13838]


 ========================================================================
 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.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 106 / Tuesday, June 3, 2003 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 33028]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 93

[Docket No. 00-112-1]


Cattle From Mexico

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend the animal importation regulations 
to prohibit the importation of Holstein cross steers and Holstein cross 
spayed heifers from Mexico. The regulations currently prohibit the 
importation of Holstein steers and Holstein spayed heifers from Mexico 
due to the high incidence of tuberculosis in that breed, but do not 
place any special restrictions on the importation of Holstein cross 
steers and Holstein cross spayed heifers from Mexico. Given that the 
incidence of tuberculosis in Holstein cross steers and Holstein cross 
spayed heifers from Mexico is comparable to the incidence of 
tuberculosis in Holstein steers and Holstein spayed heifers, this 
action is necessary to protect the health of domestic livestock in the 
United States.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
August 4, 2003.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery 
or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send 
four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket 
No. 00-112-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 
3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state 
that your comment refers to Docket No. 00-112-1. If you use e-mail, 
address your comment to [email protected]. Your comment must 
be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files. 
Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No. 
00-112-1'' on the subject line.
    You may read any comments that we receive on this docket in our 
reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 of the USDA 
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, 
DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, 
please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
    APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related 
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who 
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Roger Perkins, Senior Staff 
Veterinarian, Animals Program, National Center for Import and Export, 
VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 39, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 
734-8419.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations in 9 CFR part 93 prohibit or restrict the 
importation of certain animals, birds, and poultry into the United 
States to prevent the introduction of communicable diseases of 
livestock and poultry. Subpart D of part 93 (Sec. Sec.  93.400 through 
93.435, referred to below as the regulations) governs the importation 
of ruminants. Section 93.427 of the regulations contains restrictions 
on the importation of ruminants from Mexico.
    Bovine tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the 
bacterium Mycobacterium bovis. Although commonly defined as a chronic 
debilitating disease, bovine tuberculosis can occasionally assume an 
acute, rapidly progressive course. Any body tissue can be affected, but 
lesions are most frequently observed in the lymph nodes, lungs, 
intestines, liver, spleen, pleura, and peritoneum. Although cattle are 
considered to be the true hosts of M. bovis, the disease has been 
reported in several other species of both domestic and nondomestic 
animals.
    Since May 1994, the regulations in Sec.  93.427 have prohibited the 
importation of Holstein steers and Holstein spayed heifers from Mexico. 
Holstein steers and spayed heifers are much more likely to be infected 
with tuberculosis than other breeds of cattle, due to the fact that 
they almost always originate from or are raised on dairy farms, where 
animals are kept in close proximity, typically for several years. 
Because dairy cattle \1\ are kept in such close proximity for extended 
periods of time, the potential for cattle infected with tuberculosis to 
transmit the disease to other cattle is considerably higher than for 
non-dairy cattle.
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    \1\ The regulations specifically address Holstein dairy cattle 
because few other breeds of dairy cattle are imported into the 
United States from Mexico.
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    Holstein cross steers and Holstein cross spayed heifers are 
typically raised under the same type of conditions in Mexico as 
purebred Holstein steers and Holstein spayed heifers. For that reason, 
Holstein cross steers and Holstein cross spayed heifers from Mexico 
present essentially the same tuberculosis risk as purebred Holstein 
steers and Holstein spayed heifers from Mexico. We are, therefore, 
proposing to prohibit the importation of Holstein cross steers and 
Holstein cross spayed heifers from Mexico.
    In our May 1994 final rule prohibiting the importation of Holstein 
steers and spayed heifers from Mexico, we did not prohibit the 
importation of Holstein cross steers and spayed heifers due to the fact 
that few Holstein cross steers and spayed heifers were being imported 
at the time. However, the volume of imported Mexican Holstein cross-
bred cattle has increased significantly since 1997. Data on number of 
imports of cattle are available, but do not accurately distinguish 
between breeds, especially cross-breeds, or between sexually intact 
cattle and spayed or neutered cattle. However, the available import 
data, coupled with observations by APHIS personnel at ports of entry, 
suggest that imports of Holstein cross steers and spayed heifers have 
doubled or tripled since 1997.
    Currently, all areas of the United States are considered to be free 
of tuberculosis except for Texas, Michigan, and California. Given the 
increased volumes of Holstein cross cattle that are being imported from 
Mexico and the tuberculosis risk presented by those animals, we are 
proposing to prohibit the importation of Holstein cross steers and 
spayed heifers from Mexico in order to eliminate a pathway for the

[[Page 33029]]

introduction of tuberculosis 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 amend the animal importation regulations to 
prohibit the importation of Holstein cross steers and Holstein cross 
spayed heifers from Mexico. The regulations currently prohibit the 
importation of Holstein steers and Holstein spayed heifers from Mexico 
due to the high incidence of tuberculosis in that breed, but do not 
place any special restrictions on the importation of Holstein cross 
steers and Holstein cross spayed heifers from Mexico. Given that the 
incidence of tuberculosis in Holstein cross steers and Holstein cross 
spayed heifers from Mexico is comparable to the incidence of 
tuberculosis in Holstein steers and Holstein spayed heifers, this 
action is necessary to protect the health of domestic livestock in the 
United States.
    Given the size of U.S. livestock inventories and the volume of 
animal and animal product sales, consequences of a large tuberculosis 
outbreak in the United States could be catastrophic. Cattle in U.S. 
herds in 2000 were valued at $67 billion, with 1999 cash receipts of 
$36.5 billion from the sale of cattle, calves, beef, and veal. Cash 
receipts from the sale of milk and cream in 1999 reached $23.2 billion. 
The value of fresh beef and veal exports by the United States totaled 
$2.7 billion in 1999 and $3 billion in 2000. A widespread tuberculosis 
outbreak in the United States could potentially cause significant 
production and trade losses.

Economic Effects of the Proposed Rule

    As shown in table 1, the value of cattle imported from Mexico in 
1998 through 2001 represented less than 1 percent of the value of the 
total U.S. domestic cattle supply.

                 Table 1.--Value of U.S. Supply and Imports of Live Cattle in Comparison to Value of Cattle Imported From Mexico Mexican
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                                                                                                    Mexican  imports                    Mexican  imports
                                                                U.S. imports  of   U.S. supply  of   as a  share of   U.S. imports  of   as a  share of
                             Year                                  live cattle     live cattle \1\     total U.S.        live cattle       total U.S.
                                                                   from Mexico       (millions)       cattle supply    from the world        imports
                                                                   (millions)                           (percent)        (millions)        (percents)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1998..........................................................           $208.54        $61,193.11               0.3         $1,162.87                18
1999..........................................................            296.46         59,681.54               0.5          1,021.81                29
2000..........................................................            405.56         67,985.32               0.6          1,157.49                35
2001..........................................................            411.00         71,707.06               0.6          1,482.21               28
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\1\ Supply = Domestic production + Imports - Exports).

Sources: Imports and Exports: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of 
the Census, as reported by the World Trade Atlas. Domestic production 
from Table 7-1, Chapter VII, Agricultural Statistics 2000, NASS/USDA.

    Further, as shown in table 2, the volume of U.S. imports of live 
cattle from Mexico has generally increased since 1997. Imports of 
Holstein cross-bred steers and spayed heifers have generally increased 
during the same period.

            Table 2.--Number of Live Cattle Imported into the United States From Mexico and the World
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     1997         1998         1999         2000         2001
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Imports from Mexico............................      653,798      703,412      458,188    1,183,227    1,141,368
Imports from all other countries...............    2,083,493    2,036,746    1,949,566    2,191,199    2,439,200
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Source: FAOSTAT electronic databases for ``all cattle breeds'' category 
of imports.

Effect on Small Entities

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, agencies are required to 
analyze the economic effects of their regulations on small businesses 
and to use flexibility to provide regulatory relief when regulations 
create economic disparities between different-sized entities. According 
to the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, regulations 
create economic disparities based on size when they have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    U.S. livestock importers, breeders, and producers would be the 
entities that could be directly affected if this proposed rule is 
adopted. There are no specific data available on numbers of cattle 
importers; however, there are approximately 2,000 wholesale livestock 
traders (North American Industry Classification System [NAICS] code 
422520), many of whom may also be cattle importers. It is likely that 
the majority of these firms are small entities according to the Small 
Business Administration's (SBA's) criterion of 100 or fewer employees. 
There are approximately 1 million livestock producers and breeders 
(NAICS code 112111) in the United States, approximately 99 percent of 
which are small entities according to SBA's criterion of annual 
receipts of $750,000 or less.
    However, given that (1) imported Mexican cattle account for less 
than 1 percent of the value of the U.S. cattle supply, and (2) the 
volume of Holstein cross steers and spayed heifers imported from Mexico 
is believed to represent a small fraction of total cattle imports from 
Mexico, we expect that the economic effects on the U.S. livestock 
industry of the prohibition would be negligible. The proposed 
prohibition also would not have a significant effect on U.S. cattle 
importers, breeders, or producers because such persons could easily 
substitute other breeds of cattle for Mexican Holstein cross steers and 
spayed heifers.
    This proposed prohibition on the importation of Holstein cross 
steers and spayed heifers would benefit the U.S.

[[Page 33030]]

livestock industry and U.S. consumers by helping to prevent the 
introduction of tuberculosis into the United 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 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 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 93

    Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock, Poultry and poultry products, 
Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
    Accordingly, we propose to amend 9 CFR part 93 as follows:

PART 93--IMPORTATION OF CERTAIN ANIMALS, BIRDS, AND POULTRY, AND 
CERTAIN ANIMAL, BIRD, AND POULTRY PRODUCTS; REQUIREMENTS FOR MEANS 
OF CONVEYANCE AND SHIPPING CONTAINERS

    1. The authority citation for part 93 would continue to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1622 and 8301-8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 
31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4

    .2. In Sec.  93.427, paragraph (c)(4) would be revised to read as 
follows:


Sec.  93.427  Cattle from Mexico.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (4) The importation of Holstein steers, Holstein spayed heifers, 
Holstein cross steers, and Holstein cross spayed heifers from Mexico is 
prohibited.
* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of May, 2003.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-13838 Filed 6-2-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P