[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 245 (Monday, December 22, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 71039-71040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-31492]


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

  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 245 / Monday, December 22, 2003 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 71039]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 60

[Doc. No. LS-04-04]
RIN 0581-AC26


Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling of Beef, Lamb, Pork, Fish, 
Perishable Agricultural Commodities, and Peanuts

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period; correction.

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

SUMMARY: On October 30, 2003, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 
published a proposed rule (68 FR 61944) for the mandatory country of 
origin labeling program as mandated by the Farm Security and Rural 
Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill) and the 2002 Supplemental 
Appropriations Act (Appropriations Act), which amended the Agricultural 
Marketing Act of 1946 (Act) to require retailers to notify their 
customers of the country of origin of covered commodities beginning 
September 30, 2004. AMS is extending the comment period to February 27, 
2004, at the request of industry trade associations to provide 
interested parties with additional time to file comments. In addition, 
AMS is making corrections to the ``Analysis of Benefits and Costs'' 
section of the preliminary cost-benefit assessment of the proposed rule 
in order to correct minor transcription errors. The estimated 
recordkeeping and implementation costs as well as the estimated overall 
impact to the economy as a result of the proposed rule remain 
unchanged.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 27, 2004, to be 
assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Country of Origin Labeling 
Program, Room 2092-S, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), USDA, STOP 
0249, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0249, or by 
facsimile to 202-720-3499, or by e-mail to [email protected]. Comments 
received will be posted to the AMS Web site at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/cool/. Comments sent to the above location that 
specifically pertain to the information collection and recordkeeping 
requirements should also be sent to the Desk Officer for Agriculture, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), New Executive Office Building, 725 17th Street, NW., Room 
725, Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Keeney, Deputy Administrator, 
Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, by telephone on 202-720-4722, 
or via e-mail at: [email protected]; or William Sessions, 
Associate Deputy Administrator, Livestock and Seed Program, AMS, USDA, 
by telephone on (202) 720-5705, or via e-mail at: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Farm Bill and the Appropriations Act 
amended the Act to require retailers to notify their customers of the 
country of origin of covered commodities beginning September 30, 2004. 
The law also requires the Department of Agriculture to issue 
regulations to implement a mandatory COOL program not later than 
September 30, 2004.
    On October 30, 2003, AMS published a proposed rule in the Federal 
Register (68 FR 61944) for the mandatory country of origin labeling 
program. The comment period was originally scheduled to end on December 
29, 2003. However, industry trade organizations have requested 
additional time to study the proposed regulation to develop more 
meaningful comments. Because the proposed rule will significantly 
impact a large number of entities, AMS has determined that there is 
sufficient justification for extending the comment period 60 days until 
February 27, 2004.
    In accordance with Executive Order 12866, as part of the rulemaking 
process AMS examined the economic impact of the proposed rule for the 
mandatory COOL program, which was published in the October 30, 2003, 
Federal Register (68 FR 61944). Due to transcription errors, several 
numerical values were reported incorrectly in the section of the 
economic impact assessment that addressed effects of the proposed rule 
on the economy. The transcription errors occurred on pages 61970 and 
61971 of the October 30, 2003, Federal Register notice, Docket Number 
LS-03-04. The last sentence beginning at the bottom of the first column 
of page 61970 was published as follows:
    ``The results of our analysis indicate that U.S. production of all 
the covered commodities combined will decline from 0.15 percent to 0.92 
percent and that the overall price level for these commodities (a 
weighted average index of the prices received by suppliers for their 
commodities) will increase by 0.06 percent to 0.64 percent.''
    The originally published sentence should be replaced with the 
following sentence, which replaces three incorrectly reported numerical 
values:
    ``The results of our analysis indicate that U.S. production of all 
the covered commodities combined will decline from 0.12 percent to 0.30 
percent and that the overall price level for these commodities (a 
weighted average index of the prices received by suppliers for their 
commodities) will increase by 0.06 percent to 0.25 percent.''
    On page 61971, four numbers were reported incorrectly in Table 9--
Estimated Impact of Proposed Rule on U.S. Production, Prices, and Trade 
of Impacted Sectors. As initially published, percentage changes in the 
volume of exports of hogs, beef and lamb, pork, and fish under the Low 
Incremental Cost scenario were incorrectly reported. Initially 
published and corrected values for the affected cells of Table 9 are as 
follows:
    Corrected numerical values for Table 9.--Estimated impact of 
proposed rule on U.S. production, prices and trade of impacted sectors

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Exports  percent
                                                      change  from the
                                                          base year
                                                   ---------------------
                                                        As
                                                     initially   Replace
                                                     published    with
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Low Incremental Cost:
    Hogs..........................................       -0.05     -0.09
    Beef and Lamb.................................       -0.05     -0.13
    Pork..........................................       -0.09     -0.16
    Fish..........................................       -0.12     -0.27
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It should be noted that Table 10--Estimated Changes in U.S. 
Production, Prices, and Trade for Affected

[[Page 71040]]

Commodities, which translates the percentage changes shown in Table 9 
into unit values, is correct as initially published on page 61972.
    The transcription errors relate to incorrectly reported outcomes of 
the analysis and in no way impact the analysis itself. The estimated 
costs to the U.S. economy after a decade of adjustment remain unchanged 
from the range of $138 million to $596 million in reduced consumers' 
purchasing power. Moreover, the estimated recordkeeping and 
implementation costs remain unchanged.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.

    Dated: December 17, 2003.
A.J. Yates,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 03-31492 Filed 12-17-03; 4:03 pm]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P