[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 134 (Thursday, July 14, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40685-40686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-13828]


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 Notices
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  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 134 / Thursday, July 14, 2005 / 
Notices  

[[Page 40685]]



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. Beginning 
this year, the method of determining these triggers has been modified 
to exclude trade from countries that are not subject to WTO safeguards. 
This notice also includes the relevant period applicable for the 
trigger levels on each of the listed products.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 14, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles R. Bertsch, Multilateral Trade 
Negotiations Division, Foreign Agricultural Service, room 5524--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 tarriffication 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.
    Beginning this year a change has been made in the method for 
calculating these trigger levels. In previous years imports from all 
sources were included in the three year average used as the basis of 
the safeguard triggers. After consulting with the U.S. Trade 
Representative's Office, it was determined that it is more appropriate 
to exclude from these calculations imports from countries that are not 
subject to the WTO safeguard duties. The following countries are not 
subject to those duties as a result of Free Trade Agreements: Canada, 
Mexico, Jordan, Singapore, Chile and Australia.
    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 superceded by 
the levels indicated in the Annex to this notice.

    Dated: Issued at Washington, DC this 28 day of June, 2005.
A. Ellen Terpstra,
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.

                                     Annex--Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Product               Trigger level                                Period
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beef..........................  358,015 mt.......  January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
Mutton........................  2,105 mt.........  January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
Cream.........................  5,074,624 liters.  January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
Evaporated or Condensed Milk..  5,956,000          January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.
Nonfat Dry Milk...............  2,060,875          January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.
Dried Whole Milk..............  4,186,708          January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.
Dried Cream...................  28,042 kilograms.  January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
Dried Whey/Buttermilk.........  185,042 kilograms  January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
Butter........................  12,278,292         January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.
Butter Oil and Butter           7,294,708          January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
 Substitutes.                    kilograms.
Dairy Mixtures................  31,026,208         January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.
Blue Cheese...................  4,685,625          January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.
Cheddar Cheese................  12,127,708         January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.
American-Type Cheese..........  23,336,917         January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.

[[Page 40686]]

 
Edam/Gouda Cheese.............  6,660,467          January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.
Italian-Type Cheese...........  22,661,375         January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.
Swiss Cheese with Eye           35,579,750         January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
 Formation.                      kilograms.
Gruyere Process Cheese........  8,484,500          January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.
Lowfat Cheese.................  4,227,750          January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.
NSPF Cheese...................  54,338,417         January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.
Peanuts.......................  56,596 mt........  April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006.
Peanut Butter Paste...........  2,841 mt.........  January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
Raw Cane Sugar................  1,297,851 mt.....  October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005.
                                1,096,324........  October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006.
Refined Sugar and Syrups......  95,785 mt........  Ocober 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005.
                                36,661 mt........  October 1,2005 to September 30, 2006.
Blended Syrups................  8 mt.............  October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005.
                                59 mt............  October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006.
Articles Over 65% Sugar.......  23 mt............  October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005.
                                170 mt...........  October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006.
Articles Over 10% Sugar.......  80,886 mt........  October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005.
                                12,067 mt........  October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006.
Sweetened Cocoa Powder........  531 mt...........  October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005.
                                660 mt...........  October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006.
Chocolate Crumb...............  9,239,208          January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.
Lowfat Chocolate Crumb........  127,708 kilograms  January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
Infant Formula Containing       22,708 kilograms.  January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
 Oligosaccharides.
Mixes and Doughs..............  6,757 mt.........  October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005.
                                78 mt............  October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006.
Mixed Condiments and            402 mt...........  October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005.
 Seasonings.                    98 mt............  October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006.
Ice Cream.....................  795,143 liters...  January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
Animal Feed Containing Milk...  254,958 kilograms  January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.
Short Staple Cotton...........  94,717 kilograms.  September 20, 2004 to September 19, 2005.
                                20,042 kilograms.  September 20, 2005 to September 19, 2006.
Harsh or Rough Cotton.........  0 mt.............  August 1, 2004 to July 31, 2005.
                                0 mt.............  August 1, 2005 to July 31, 2006.
Medium Staple Cotton..........  485,971 kilograms  August 1, 2004 to July 31, 2005.
                                1,571,375          August 1, 2005 to July 31, 2006.
                                 kilograms.
Extra Long Staple Cotton......  8,982,620          August 1, 2004 to July 31, 2005.
                                 kilograms.        August 1, 2005 to July 31, 2006.
                                9,736,417
                                 kilograms.
Cotton Waste..................  0 kilograms......  September 20, 2004 to September 19, 2005.
                                5,125 kilograms..  September 20, 2005 to September 19, 2006.
Cotton, Processed Not Spun....  5,343 kilograms..  September 11, 2004 to September 10, 2005.
                                80,208 kilograms.  September 11, 2005 to September 10, 2006.
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[FR Doc. 05-13828 Filed 7-13-05; 8:45 am]
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