[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 113 (Thursday, June 12, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35193-35194]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-14550]


 ========================================================================
 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 113 / Thursday, June 12, 2003 / 
Notices  

[[Page 35193]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Foreign Agricultural Service


WTO Agricultural Safeguard Trigger Levels

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of product coverage and trigger levels for safeguard 
measures provided for in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement 
on Agriculture.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice lists the updated quantity trigger levels for 
products, which may be subject to additional import duties under the 
safeguard provisions of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. It also 
includes the relevant period applicable for trigger levels on each of 
those products.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 12, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles R. Bertsch, Multilateral Trade 
Negotiations Division, Foreign Agricultural Service, room 5530--South 
Building, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250-1022, 
telephone at (202) 720-6278, or e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Article 5 of the WTO Agreement on 
Agriculture provides that additional import duties may be imposed on 
imports of products subject to tariffication as a result of the Uruguay 
Round if certain conditions are met. The agreement permits additional 
duties to be charged if the price of an individual shipment of imported 
products falls below the average price for similar goods imported 
during the years 1986-88 by a specified percentage. It also permits 
additional duties to be imposed if the volume of imports of an article 
exceeds the average of the most recent 3 years for which data are 
available by 5, 10, or 25 percent, depending on the article. These 
additional duties may not be imposed on quantities for which minimum or 
current access commitments were made during the Uruguay Round 
negotiations, and only one type of safeguard, price or quantity, may be 
applied at any given time to an article.
    Section 405 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires that the 
President cause to be published in the Federal Register information 
regarding the price and quantity safeguards, including the quantity 
trigger levels, which must be updated annually based upon import levels 
during the most recent 3 years. The President delegated this duty to 
the Secretary of Agriculture in Presidential Proclamation No. 6763, 
QUANTITY BASED SAFEGUARD TRIGGER dated December 23, 1994. The Secretary 
of Agriculture further delegated the duty to the Administrator of the 
Foreign Agricultural Service (7 CFR 2.43(a)(2)). The Annex to this 
notice contains the updated quantity trigger levels.
    Additional information on the products subject to safeguards and 
the additional duties which may apply can be found in subchapter IV of 
Chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States and 
in the Secretary of Agriculture's Notice of Safeguard Action, published 
in the Federal Register at 60 FR 427, January 4, 1995.

    Notice: As provided in section 405 of the Uruguay Round 
Agreements Act, consistent with Article 5 of the Agreement on 
Agriculture, the safeguard quantity trigger levels previously 
notified are supeceded by the levels indicated in the Annex to this 
notice.


    Issued at Washington, DC, this 4 day of June.
K.J. Roberts,
Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service, Annex.
    The definitions of these products were provided in the Notice of 
Safeguard Action published in the Federal Register, at 60 FR 427, 
January 4, 1995.


                    Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger
------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Product                Trigger level            Period
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beef........................  1,186,106 mt........  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Mutton......................  17,117 mt...........  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Cream.......................  5,534,383 liters....  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Evaporated or Condensed Milk  7,455,620 kilograms.  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Nonfat Dry Milk.............  4,466,516 kilograms.  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Dried Whole Milk............  3,564,465 kilograms.  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Dried Cream.................  7,653 kilograms.....  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Dried Whey/Buttermilk.......  69,343 kilograms....  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Butter......................  13,733,235 kilograms  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Butter Oil and Butter         10,526,925 kilograms  January 1, 2003 to
 Substitutes.                                        December 31, 2003.
Dairy Mixtures..............  4,895,300 kilograms.  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Blue Cheese.................  4,218,407 kilograms.  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Cheddar Cheese..............  15,619,014 kilograms  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
American-Type Cheese........  21,653,472 kilograms  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Edam/Gouda Cheese...........  8,310,586 kilograms.  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Italian-Type Cheese.........  18,789,008 kilograms  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Swiss Cheese with Eye         37,381,545 kilograms  January 1, 2003 to
 Formation.                                          December 31, 2003.
Gruyere Process Cheese......  8,092,469 kilograms.  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Lowfat Cheese...............  3,404,944 kilograms.  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
NSPF Cheese.................  58,201,906 kilograms  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Peanuts.....................  64,394 mt...........  April 1, 2003 to
                                                     March 31, 2003.
Peanut Butter/Paste.........  19,583 mt...........  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.

[[Page 35194]]

 
Raw Cane Sugar..............  1,358,418 mt........  October 1, 2002 to
                                                     September 30, 2003.
                              1,292,926 mt........  October 1, 2003 to
                                                     September 30, 2004.
Refined Sugar and Syrups....  46,395 mt...........  October 1, 2002 to
                                                     September 30, 2003.
                              66,348 mt...........  October 1, 2003 to
                                                     September 30, 2004.
Blended Syrups..............  2 mt................  October 1, 2002 to
                                                     September 30, 2003.
                              0 mt................  October 1, 2003 to
                                                     September 30, 2004.
Articles Over 65% Sugar.....  10 mt...............  October 1, 2002 to
                                                     September 30, 2003.
Articles Over 10% Sugar.....  80,886 mt...........  October 1, 2002 to
                                                     September 30, 2003.
                              80,886 mt...........  October 1, 2003 to
                                                     September 30, 2004.
                              0 mt................  October 1, 2003 to
                                                     September 30, 2004.
Sweetened Cocoa Powder......  759 mt..............  October 1, 2002 to
                                                     September 30, 2003.
                              843 mt..............  October 1, 2003 to
                                                     September 30, 2004.
Chocolate Crumb.............  22,524,838 kilograms  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Lowfat Chocolate Crumb......  460,521 kilograms...  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Infant Formula Containing     125,000 kilograms...  January 1, 2003 to
 Oligosaccharides.                                   December 31, 2003.
Mixes and Doughs............  5,364 mt............  October 1, 2002 to
                                                     September 30, 2003.
                              5,358 mt............  October 1, 2003 to
                                                     September 30, 2004.
Mixed Condiments and          523 mt..............  October 1, 2002 to
 Seasonings.                                         September 30, 2003.
                              554 mt..............  October 1, 2003 to
                                                     September 30, 2004.
Ice Cream...................  3,832, 905 liters...  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Animal Feed Containing Milk.  5,772 kilograms.....  January 1, 2003 to
                                                     December 31, 2003.
Short Staple Cotton.........  5,273,740 kilograms.  September 20, 2002
                                                     to September 19,
                                                     2003.
                              328,762 kilograms...  September 20, 2003
                                                     to September 19,
                                                     2004.
Harsh or Rough Cotton.......  0 mt................  August 1, 2002 to
                                                     July 31, 2003.
                              0 mt................  August 1, 2003 to
                                                     July 31, 2004.
Medium Staple Cotton........  740,504 kilograms...  August 1, 2002 to
                                                     July 31, 2003.
                              175,688 kilograms...  August 1, 2003 to
                                                     July 31, 2004.
Extra Long Staple Cotton....  6,562,505 kilograms.  August 1, 2002 to
                                                     July 31, 2003.
                              6,218,181 kilograms.  August 1, 2003 to
                                                     July 31, 2004.
Cotton Waste................  0 kilograms.........  September 20, 2002
                                                     to September 19,
                                                     2003.
                              0 kilograms.........  September 20, 2003
                                                     to September 19,
                                                     2004.
Cotton, Processed, Not Spun.  1,790 kilograms.....  September 11, 2002
                                                     to September 10,
                                                     2003.
                              1,042 kilograms.....  September 11, 2003
                                                     to September 10,
                                                     2004.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[FR Doc. 03-14550 Filed 6-11-03; 8:45 am]
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