[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 67 (Thursday, April 9, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 16146-16151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-8102]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 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. 74, No. 67 / Thursday, April 9, 2009 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 16146]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Parts 305 and 319

[Docket No. APHIS-2007-0117]
RIN 0579-AC90


Importation of Wooden Handicrafts From China

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend the regulations to provide for the 
importation of wooden handicrafts from China under certain conditions. 
From 2002 to 2005, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services 
(APHIS) issued more than 300 emergency action notices and conducted 
national recalls to remove infested Chinese-origin wooden handicrafts 
from the U.S. marketplace. In 2005, APHIS suspended the importation of 
certain Chinese wooden handicrafts until we could more fully analyze 
the pest risks associated with those articles. Based on the evidence in 
a recent pest risk analysis, APHIS has determined that these articles 
can be safely imported from China, provided certain conditions are met. 
This action would allow for trade in Chinese wooden handicrafts to 
resume while continuing to protect the United States against the 
introduction of plant pests.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before June 
8, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2007-0117 to submit or view comments and 
to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send two copies of 
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2007-0117, Regulatory Analysis and 
Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to 
Docket No. APHIS-2007-0117.
    Reading Room: 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.
    Other Information: Additional information about APHIS and its 
programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John Tyrone Jones, Trade Director 
(Forestry Products), Phytosanitary Issues Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 140, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-8860.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The regulations in ``Subpart--Logs, Lumber, and Other 
Unmanufactured Wood Articles'' (7 CFR 319.40-1 through 319.40-11, 
referred to below as the regulations) govern the importation of various 
logs, lumber, and other unmanufactured wood products into the United 
States. Under Sec.  319.40-9 of the regulations, all regulated articles 
must be inspected at the port of first arrival. If a regulated article 
shows any signs of pest infestation, the inspector may require 
treatment, if an approved treatment exists, or refuse entry of the 
consignment.
    In recent years, wood decorative items and craft products (wooden 
handicrafts) from China have been entering the United States in 
increasing quantities. Since 2002, the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued more than 300 emergency action 
notices for wooden handicrafts from China, including artificial trees 
manufactured from a composite of natural and synthetic materials, 
garden trellis towers, home and garden wood d[eacute]cor, and craft 
items. In 2004, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 
intercepted live wood boring beetles, Callidiellum villosulum 
(Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), on artificial trees manufactured from wood 
components and on other craft products imported from China. Subsequent 
to these interceptions, shipments of those articles were recalled from 
retail stores. Based on these pest interceptions, we suspended the 
importation of most wooden handicrafts (i.e., all handicrafts made from 
wooden logs, limbs, branches, or twigs greater than 1 centimeter in 
diameter) from China in 2005 until a more thorough evaluation of the 
pest risks associated with those articles could be conducted.
    APHIS prepared a pest risk assessment, titled ``Pests and 
mitigations for manufactured wood d[eacute]cor and craft products from 
China for importation into the United States,'' to evaluate the risks 
associated with the importation of such wooden handicrafts into the 
United States from China. APHIS also prepared a risk management 
document, titled ``Pests and mitigations for manufactured wood 
d[eacute]cor and craft products from China for importation into the 
United States,'' to determine mitigations necessary to prevent pest 
entry, introduction, or establishment associated with imported wooden 
handicrafts from China. Copies of the pest risk assessment and risk 
management document may be obtained from the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT or viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site 
(see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov).
    Based on the conclusions in the pest risk assessment and the 
accompanying risk management document, we have determined that wooden 
handicrafts can be imported from China provided certain conditions are 
met. The details of those conditions would be set out in a new 
paragraph (o) in Sec.  319.40-5, ``Importation and entry requirements 
for specified articles.'' The new paragraph would require treatments, 
phytosanitary certificates and inspection, and box identifications. 
These requirements are discussed in more detail in the following 
paragraphs.

Change to the Title of ``Subpart--Logs, Lumber, and Other 
Unmanufactured Wood Articles''

    For reasons that we discuss below, we are proposing to remove the 
word

[[Page 16147]]

``unmanufactured'' from the title of the subpart.

Definitions

    Section 319.40-1 contains definitions for certain terms used in the 
regulations pertaining to logs, lumber, and other wood articles. In 
Sec.  319.40-1, we are proposing to add a new definition, wooden 
handicraft, and to revise the definition of regulated article. We would 
define wooden handicraft as a commodity class of articles derived or 
made of natural components of wood, twigs, and vines, and including 
bamboo poles and garden stakes. Handicrafts would include the following 
products where wood is present: Carvings, baskets, boxes, bird houses, 
manufactured Christmas trees, garden and lawn/patio furniture (rustic), 
potpourri, silk trees (typically artificial ficus trees), trellis 
towers, garden fencing and edging, and other items composed of wood. 
This new definition would establish the meaning of this term in the 
context of the regulations.
    Currently, we define a regulated article as ``the following 
articles, if they are unprocessed or have received only primary 
processing: Logs; lumber; any whole tree; any cut tree or any portion 
of a tree, not solely consisting of leaves, flowers, fruits, buds, or 
seeds; bark; cork; laths; hog fuel; sawdust; painted raw wood products; 
excelsior (wood wool); wood chips; wood mulch; wood shavings; pickets; 
stakes; shingles; solid wood packing materials; humus; compost; and 
litter.'' Based on this definition, insofar as wooden handicrafts are 
often composed primarily of products that have undergone more than 
primary processing, we recognize that it is not immediately apparent 
that they would fall within the scope of articles regulated by the 
subpart.
    However, we have long construed one of the clauses of the 
definition of regulated article, designating any unmanufactured or 
partially processed portion of a tree as a regulated article, to mean 
that any article that contains an unmanufactured or partially processed 
part that cannot feasibly be separated from the other parts of the 
article for the purposes of inspection and treatment is, in fact, a 
regulated article. For example, we would consider a crate constructed 
of processed (e.g., plywood) sides but unprocessed lumber bracing to be 
a regulated article, and thus subject to inspection and treatment. 
Moreover, wooden handicrafts, as we are proposing to define them, would 
always contain unmanufactured or partially processed parts that cannot 
easily be extricated from the other parts of the handicraft. Therefore, 
we consider wooden handicrafts to fall within the scope of regulated 
articles.
    However, we do consider it useful to amend and clarify the 
definition of regulated articles at this time based on our long-
standing interpretation of that definition. As amended, regulated 
articles would be ``the following articles, if they are unprocessed, 
have received only primary processing, or contain parts that are either 
unprocessed or have received only primary processing and are not 
feasibly separable from the other parts of the article: Logs; lumber; 
any whole tree; any cut tree or any portion of a tree, not solely 
consisting of leaves, flowers, fruits, buds, or seeds; bark; cork; 
laths; hog fuel; sawdust; painted raw wood products; excelsior (wood 
wool); wood chips; wood mulch; wood shavings; pickets; stakes; 
shingles; solid wood packing materials; humus; compost; litter; and 
wooden handicrafts.''
    Accordingly, since we have long applied the requirements of this 
subpart to articles that are partially processed or manufactured, we 
also consider it useful to amend the title of the subpart by removing 
the word ``unmanufactured'' from it.

Treatments

    Wood boring beetles in the families Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, and 
Scolytidae were the pests of greatest concern identified in the pest 
risk assessment as likely to follow the pathway on imported wooden 
handicrafts from China. Because the immature stages of wood boring 
beetles develop completely inside wood, wood boring beetles are 
considered to present a high risk of entering the United States 
undetected within untreated wood. Until adult insects leave the wood, 
there is often no sign of the internally feeding pest. Therefore, to 
address the risks presented by those pests, we are proposing to amend 
the regulations to require that all wooden handicrafts from China be 
treated with heat treatment or heat treatment with moisture reduction. 
In certain instances, which we specify below, we are also proposing to 
allow methyl bromide as an alternative treatment method.
    The requirements for heat treatment and heat treatment with 
moisture reduction are currently set forth in Sec.  319.40-7(c) and 
(d), respectively. As provided in Sec.  319.40-7(c), heat treatment may 
take place only at a facility where APHIS or an inspector authorized by 
the Administrator and the national government of the country in which 
the facility is located has inspected the facility and determined that 
its operation complies with the treatment specifications as follows: 
Heat treatment procedures may employ steam, hot water, kilns, exposure 
to microwave energy, or any other method (e.g., the hot water and steam 
techniques used in veneer production) that raises the temperature of 
the center of each treated regulated article to at least 71.1 [deg]C 
(160 [deg]F) and maintains the regulated article at that center 
temperature for at least 75 minutes.
    Section 319.40-7(d) provides that heat treatment with moisture 
reduction may include kiln drying conducted in accordance with the 
schedules prescribed for the regulated article in the Dry Kiln 
Operator's Manual, Agriculture Handbook 188, which we have incorporated 
by reference into our regulations (see 7 CFR 300.2), or dry heat, 
exposure to microwave energy, or any other method that raises the 
temperature of the center of each treated regulated article to at least 
71.1 [deg]C (160 [deg]F), maintains the regulated articles at that 
center temperature for at least 75 minutes, and reduces the moisture 
content of the regulated article to 20 percent or less as measured by 
an electrical conductivity meter.
    For regulated articles that are heat treated or heat treated with 
moisture reduction prior to arrival in the United States, the regulated 
article must be stored, handled, or safeguarded in a manner which 
excludes any infestation of the regulated article by plant pests, 
particularly the pests of greatest concern identified in the risk 
management document, during the entire interval between treatment and 
export.
    Proposed Sec.  319.40-5(o)(1) provides for the use of methyl 
bromide fumigation as an additional treatment option for wooden 
handicrafts that are less than 6 inches in diameter. The methyl bromide 
treatment we would prescribe, which is listed in 7 CFR part 305 as 
treatment schedule T404-d, is not an effective treatment for wood 
pieces that are larger than 6 inches in diameter.

Phytosanitary Certificate

    Proposed Sec.  319.40-5(o)(2) would require that all consignments 
of wooden handicrafts be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate 
issued by the national plant protection organization (NPPO) of China. 
The phytosanitary certificate would have to contain an additional 
declaration stating that the handicrafts were treated as required under 
Sec.  319.40-5(o) and inspected and found free from quarantine pests. 
The phytosanitary certificate would serve to verify that treatment took 
place in China

[[Page 16148]]

and that the consignment was free of quarantine pests upon exportation.

Identification of Shipping Packages

    Proposed Sec.  319.40-5(o)(3) would require that all individual 
packages of wooden handicrafts be labeled with a merchandising tag 
containing the identity of the product manufacturer. We would require 
that the tag be applied to each package in China prior to exportation 
and that the identifying tag remain in place until the package reaches 
the store at which it will be sold in the United States. The 
identification tag would serve as a means for APHIS to track shipments 
should a recall be required.

Changes to Treatment Schedules

    We are also proposing to amend Sec.  305.28, ``Kiln sterilization 
treatment schedule.'' Currently, this section contains a treatment 
schedule, T-404-b-4, that, while correct, is ambiguous. Therefore, we 
would have T-404-b-4 refer to the kiln sterilization techniques 
prescribed in the Dry Kiln Operator's Manual, Agriculture Handbook 188, 
which is incorporated by reference into our regulations. The Dry Kiln 
Operator's Manual, Agriculture Handbook 188, would provide exporters of 
wood products with equivalent kiln sterilization treatment schedules 
that are clearer.

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 have prepared an initial regulatory flexibility analysis that 
considers the potential economic effects of this proposed rule on small 
entities, as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
    We are proposing to amend the regulations to provide for the 
importation of wooden handicrafts from China under certain conditions. 
From 2002 to 2005, APHIS issued more than 300 emergency action notices 
and conducted national recalls to remove infested Chinese-origin wooden 
handicrafts from the U.S. marketplace. In 2005, APHIS suspended the 
importation of certain Chinese wooden handicrafts until further 
analysis of pest risk could be conducted. Based on the evidence in a 
recent pest risk assessment, APHIS has determined that these articles 
can be safely imported from China, provided certain conditions are met. 
This action would allow for trade in Chinese wooden handicrafts to 
resume while continuing to protect the United States against the 
introduction of plant pests.

U.S.-Chinese Trade in Wood Products

    The U.S. forest products industry is among the nation's leading 
manufacturers. It contributes about $167 billion to the gross domestic 
product, with annual shipments valued at $359 billion.\1\ The industry 
tends to locate near its resource base and therefore is important to 
many local rural economies. It employs directly more than 1.5 million 
people. Many other jobs depend on such forest-related activities as 
hunting, hiking, fishing, and the production and sale of alternative 
forest products.
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    \1\ U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of Manufactures: 2005 
Statistics for industry groups and industries, November 2006. The 
value added and shipment values are for wood products manufacturing, 
paper manufacturing, and furniture and related product 
manufacturing.
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    The United States is one of the major players in international wood 
products trade. It is a top five exporter and the leading importer of 
wood and wood products. In 2006, the United States exported wood and 
wood products valued at $6.6 billion to a variety of destinations. The 
major destinations included Canada, Japan, Mexico, China, Spain, the 
United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, South Korea, and Hong Kong. That same 
year, the U.S. imported wood and wood products valued at $22.9 billion. 
Canada, Brazil, China, Chile, and Germany supplied 83 percent of U.S. 
total imports of wood and wood products.
    According to a recent report by USDA's Foreign Agricultural 
Services (FAS), the United States imported wood products (including 
furniture and paper products) from China valued at $4.55 billion, while 
it exported to China wood products valued at $1.11 billion in 2006.\2\ 
Most of the Chinese exports to the United States are value-added 
products such as furniture and paper, while the U.S. exports to China 
are mainly raw or semi-processed materials such as timber, lumber, and 
veneer. Trade between the two countries in all products is expanding at 
a rapid rate. China jumped from being the United States' fourth largest 
trade partner in 2002 to being our second largest partner in 2006. If 
this rate of expansion continues, China will likely pass Canada and 
become the United States' largest trading partner in the near future. 
China's overall mercantile exports to the United States increased from 
$102 billion in 2001 to $288 billion in 2006, a 181 percent increase. 
Over the same period of time, U.S. imports increased overall by about 
62 percent. The increase in imports of Chinese wood products was even 
larger, about 256 percent over the same period, compared to an overall 
increase in U.S. imports of wood products of 53 percent.\3\
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    \2\ USDA/FAS, Solid Wood Products: China's Wood processing 
Sector and Re-exports of Imported U.S. Wood products, 2007, GAIN 
Report Number CH7061.
    \3\ World Trade Atlas, 1993-2007. Global Trade Information 
Services, Inc., July 2007.
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Benefits and Costs

    The brown fir longhorned beetle, Callidiellum villosulum, and the 
Japanese cedar longhorned beetle, Callidiellum rufipenne, are both 
related to Anoplophora glabripennis, the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB). 
The ALB is a pest that is destructive of many tree species found in 
U.S. forests and is currently being eradicated in the United States. 
Its host ranges include cedar, cypress, pine, redwood, and other 
conifers. The host range of the tiger longhorned beetle, Chlorophorus 
annularis, includes grapes, citrus, pears, and cotton. (U.S.-produced 
grapes, citrus, pears, and cotton had combined domestic sales of over 
$12 billion in 2006.) The introduction of one of these pests to an area 
could result in reduced yields, reduced commodity value, and loss of 
both domestic and international markets. The damage caused by these 
pests becomes additive when there are mixed populations of closely 
related species. The United States is susceptible to establishment of 
these pests because our climatic zones are similar to those of China.
    The potential destructiveness and economic impacts of these insects 
are exemplified by APHIS' most recent experience with ALB and Agrilus 
planipennis, the emerald ash borer (EAB). The ALB continues to attack 
hosts with significant commercial value, killing the host or 
predisposing it to destruction by other organisms. Affected areas lose 
aesthetic and property values as large infested trees are replaced by 
young and less desirable ALB-resistant trees. Eradication efforts in 
New York and Illinois have resulted in the destruction and removal of 
thousands of trees. APHIS has spent more than $300 million on 
eradication efforts and tree replacement. A study by Nowak et al. 
(2002), using the New York and Illinois experience as a basis, 
estimated that the potential national urban impact of ALB could reach a 
loss of 34.9 percent of total canopy cover, with 30.3 percent

[[Page 16149]]

tree mortality and a value loss of $669 billion.\4\
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    \4\ Nowak, D.J., D.E. Crane, and J.F. Dwyer. July 2002. 
``Compensatory Value of Urban Trees in the United States.'' Journal 
of Arboriculture, Vol. 28: 194-199.
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    Similarly, EAB is a destructive wood-boring insect that attacks ash 
trees (Fraxinus spp., including green ash, white ash, black ash, and 
several horticultural varieties of ash). This destructive pest has 
already killed more than 20 million ash trees since it was discovered 
in Michigan in the summer of 2002.\5\ The mortality rate for infested 
trees is 100 percent. If EAB spreads from infested areas to the 
surrounding forests of the northeastern United States, where nursery, 
landscaping, and timber industries and forest-based recreation and 
tourism industries play vital economic roles, its impact would be 
severe. The pest has the potential to destroy entire stands of ash, and 
any incursion of the pest can result in substantial losses to forest 
ecosystems, urban trees, and the timber industry. Sydnor et al. (2007) 
estimate total potential losses from this one pest in one State (Ohio), 
including ash landscape losses, tree removal, and replacements, to be 
between $1.8 billion and $7.6 billion.\6\
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    \5\ http://www.ca.uky.edu/AGC/NEWS/2006/Dec/ashborer.htm.
    \6\ Sydnor, T.D., M. Bumgardner, and A. Todd, (January 2007). 
``The potential economic impacts of emerald ash borer (Agrilus 
planipennis) on Ohio, U.S., communities.'' Arboriculture and Urban 
Forestry, Vol. 33: 48-54.
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    Eradication and control costs for ALB and EAB, and potential losses 
that could be caused by these pests if nothing were done to prevent 
their spread, are similar to the costs and losses that could be 
incurred if the pests addressed by this proposed rule were to become 
established in the United States.
    The cost of meeting the regulatory requirements of this proposed 
rule would be borne by Chinese manufacturers and exporters before the 
products are exported to the United States. The treatment options 
include heat treatment and heat treatment with moisture reduction, and 
for articles with a diameter of less than 6 inches, fumigation with 
methyl bromide. Heat treatment can increase the value of wood, while 
green wood products treated by methyl bromide do not gain additional 
value.
    Reportedly, fumigation tends to be a bit more expensive than heat 
treatment per treated load, but it does not have the considerable 
upfront expenditure associated with installing a heat treatment system. 
The cost for a fumigation service depends on a number of factors, 
including distance from the nearest service center, volume, frequency, 
and services requested. Fumigation services can range anywhere from 
$175-$500 per load.\7\ U.S. entities that import wooden handicraft 
articles from China may therefore experience some increase in prices 
because of the treatment requirements imposed by this rule, but the 
effect is not expected to be significant. For one thing, due to the 
treatment of wooden packing material currently required of incoming 
shipments from China, China already has in place the heat treatment and 
fumigation facilities and operations that would be needed. Therefore, 
while we lack information regarding the total number of treatments that 
would need to be conducted because of this rule, we are confident that 
China has in place means to minimize the cost of treatment.
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    \7\ Pallet Enterprise Web site: http://www.palletenterprise.com/pests/fumigation101.asp.
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    Finally, the cost of heat treatment or fumigation is expected to be 
small in comparison to the value of the wooden handicrafts that would 
be shipped. Wooden handicrafts are a value-added product for which 
there is an established market in the United States, as indicated by 
imports of wooden handicrafts from China prior to 2005. Accordingly, we 
expect that any portion of treatment costs that may be passed on to 
U.S. consumers would be minor compared to the benefits that would be 
accrued by U.S. consumers based on consumer access to a product for 
which there has been a clear market in recent years. Moreover, we 
expect these costs to be less than benefits that may be accrued based 
on the aggregate value of the handicrafts themselves and the 
potentiality, based on this value, for the facilitation of greater 
trade between the United States and China.

Effects on Small Entities

    As a part of the rulemaking process, APHIS evaluates whether 
regulations are likely to have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The Small Business Administration 
has established guidelines for determining the number of firms 
considered small under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The entities 
that may be affected by this proposed rule are those engaged in wood 
product manufacturing, importing of the regulated articles, or 
furniture and related products manufacturing.\8\ These establishments 
are considered small if they employ 500 or fewer workers.\9\ There were 
2,129 establishments engaged in other miscellaneous wood product 
manufacturing (North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 
Code 321999), of which only 4 establishments (less than 0.2 percent) 
could be considered to be large. The average annual value of their 
shipments in 2002 was $154 million. The 2,125 small establishments had 
an average annual shipment value in 2002 of $1.9 million.
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    \8\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 economic census, Manufacturing-
Subject Series.
    \9\ U.S. Small Business Administration Table of Small Business 
Size Standards. (http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/serv_sstd_tablepdf.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alternatives

    The Agency does not foresee any significant impact of the proposed 
rule and therefore has not set forth any significant alternatives to 
minimize the impact on small entities. Any costs due to the treatments 
required by the proposed rule would be directly borne by the 
manufacturer or exporter in China. A portion of this cost may be passed 
on to the U.S. importer, but it would not be significant.

Summary

    The application of the required treatments would take place in 
China before the products are exported to the United States. The 
entities that would be directly affected by the rule are Chinese 
manufacturers and exporters of wooden handicrafts. Domestically, the 
entities that may be marginally affected by the rule would be those 
engaged in wood product manufacturing, and importers and users of 
wooden handicrafts from China. These establishments are considered 
small if they employ 500 or fewer workers. In 2002, there were 2,129 
establishments engaged in other miscellaneous wood product 
manufacturing (NAICS Code 321999), of which 4 establishments (less than 
0.2 percent) could be considered to be large. The average annual value 
of their shipments in 2002 was $154 million. That same year, small 
establishments had an average annual shipment value of $1.9 million. We 
expect any indirect impact of the rule for U.S. entities large or 
small, in terms of increased prices for wooden handicrafts from China 
because of the treatment requirements, to be minor. The U.S. forest 
industry has an important role in the U.S. economy, and the proposed 
amendments would help protect the industry from the establishment of 
pests introduced in wooden handicrafts imported from China.

[[Page 16150]]

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.

National Environmental Policy Act

    To provide the public with documentation of APHIS' review and 
analysis of any potential environmental impacts associated with the 
importation of wooden handicrafts from China, we have prepared an 
environmental assessment. The environmental assessment was prepared in 
accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2) regulations of the 
Council on Environmental Quality for implementing the procedural 
provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), (3) USDA regulations 
implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS' NEPA Implementing 
Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
    The environmental assessment may be viewed on the Regulations.gov 
Web site or in our reading room. (A link to Regulations.gov and 
information on the location and hours of the reading room are provided 
under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of this proposed rule.) In 
addition, copies may be obtained by calling or writing to the 
individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Use of Methyl Bromide

    The United States is fully committed to the objectives of the 
Montreal Protocol, including the reduction and ultimately the 
elimination of reliance on methyl bromide for quarantine and pre-
shipment uses in a manner that is consistent with the safeguarding of 
U.S. agriculture and ecosystems. APHIS reviews its methyl bromide 
policies and their effect on the environment in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 
et seq.), and Decision XI/13 (paragraph 5) of the 11th Meeting of the 
Parties to the Montreal Protocol, which calls on the Parties to review 
their ``national plant, animal, environmental, health, and stored 
product regulations with a view to removing the requirement for the use 
of methyl bromide for quarantine and pre-shipment where technically and 
economically feasible alternatives exist.''
    The United States Government encourages methods that do not use 
methyl bromide to meet phytosanitary standards where alternatives are 
deemed to be technically and economically feasible. In some 
circumstances, however, methyl bromide continues to be the only 
technically and economically feasible treatment against specific 
quarantine pests. In addition, in accordance with Montreal Protocol 
Decision XI/13 (paragraph 7), APHIS is committed to promoting and 
employing gas recapture technology and other methods whenever possible 
to minimize harm to the environment cause by methyl bromide emissions. 
As noted above, we welcome data or other information regarding other 
treatments that may be efficacious and technically and economically 
feasible that we may consider as alternatives to methyl bromide.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information collection or 
recordkeeping requirements included in this proposed rule have been 
submitted for approval to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
Please send written comments to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for APHIS, Washington, 
DC 20503. Please state that your comments refer to Docket No. APHIS-
2007-0117. Please send a copy of your comments to: (1) Docket No. 
APHIS-2007-0117, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, 
Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238, 
and (2) Clearance Officer, OCIO, USDA, room 404-W, 14th Street and 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250. A comment to OMB is best 
assured of having its full effect if OMB receives it within 30 days of 
publication of this proposed rule.
    We are proposing to amend the regulations to provide for the 
importation of wooden handicrafts from China under certain conditions. 
This action would allow for trade in Chinese wooden handicrafts to 
resume while continuing to protect the United States against the 
introduction of plant pests. Allowing the importation of wooden 
handicrafts from China would necessitate the use of certain information 
collection activities, including the completion of phytosanitary 
certificates and identification tags of packages of wooden handicrafts.
    We are soliciting comments from the public (as well as affected 
agencies) concerning our proposed information collection and 
recordkeeping requirements. These comments will help us:
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper performance of our agency's functions, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the information collection on those who 
are to respond (such as through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology; e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses).
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 0.003984 hours per response.
    Respondents: Chinese exporters.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 140.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 2,259.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses: 316,260.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 1,260 hours. (Due to 
averaging, the total annual burden hours may not equal the product of 
the annual number of responses multiplied by the reporting burden per 
response.)
    Copies of this information collection can be obtained from Mrs. 
Celeste Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 
851-2908.

E-Government Act Compliance

    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is committed to 
compliance with the E-Government Act to promote the use of the Internet 
and other information technologies, to provide increased opportunities 
for citizen access to Government information and services, and for 
other purposes. For information pertinent to E-Government Act 
compliance related to this proposed rule, please contact Mrs. Celeste 
Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851-2908.

Lists of Subjects

7 CFR Part 305

    Irradiation, Phytosanitary treatment, Plant diseases and pests, 
Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

[[Page 16151]]

7 CFR Part 319

    Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Imports, Logs, Nursery stock, Plant 
diseases and pests, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Rice, Vegetables.

    Accordingly, we propose to amend 7 CFR parts 305 and 319 as 
follows:

PART 305--PHYTOSANITARY TREATMENTS

    1. The authority citation for part 305 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 7701-7772 and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 
136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

    2. Section 305.2 is amended as follows:
    a. In the introductory text of paragraph (v), in the first 
sentence, by adding the word ``handicrafts,'' after the word 
``containers,''.
    b. In the table in paragraph (v), by adding, in alphabetical order, 
a new entry for ``wooden handicrafts'' to read as set forth below.


Sec.  305.2  Approved treatments.

* * * * *
    (v) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Material                              Pest                          Treatment schedule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Wooden handicrafts....................  Wood-boring beetles (including  MB-T404-d (less than 6 inches in
                                         the families Buprestidae,       diameter), heat treatment (Sec.
                                         Cerambycidae, and Scolytidae)   319.40-7(c) of this chapter), or heat
                                         and other pests associated      treatment with moisture reduction (Sec.
                                         with wooden handicrafts.          319.40-7(d) of this chapter).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. Section 305.28 is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  305.28  Kiln sterilization treatment schedule.

    T404-b-4: See kiln sterilization treatments contained in the ``Dry 
Kiln Operator's Manual,'' which is incorporated by reference at Sec.  
300.2 of this chapter.

PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES

    4. The authority citation for part 319 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 450, 7701-7772, and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C. 
136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

    5. Following Sec.  319.37-14, the subpart heading ``Subpart--Logs, 
Lumber, and Other Unmanufactured Wood Articles'' is amended by removing 
the word ``Unmanufactured''.
    6. Section 319.40-1 is amended by revising the definition of 
regulated article and adding, in alphabetical order, a definition for 
wooden handicraft to read as follows:


Sec.  319.40-1  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Regulated article. The following articles, if they are unprocessed, 
have received only primary processing, or contain parts that are either 
unprocessed or have received only primary processing and are not 
feasibly separable from the other parts of the article: Logs; lumber; 
any whole tree; any cut tree or any portion of a tree, not solely 
consisting of leaves, flowers, fruits, buds, or seeds; bark; cork; 
laths; hog fuel; sawdust; painted raw wood products; excelsior (wood 
wool); wood chips; wood mulch; wood shavings; pickets; stakes; 
shingles; solid wood packing materials; humus; compost; litter; and 
wooden handicrafts.
* * * * *
    Wooden handicraft. A commodity class of articles derived or made 
from natural components of wood, twigs, and vines, and including bamboo 
poles and garden stakes. Handicrafts include the following products 
where wood is present: Carvings, baskets, boxes, bird houses, 
manufactured Christmas trees, garden and lawn/patio furniture (rustic), 
potpourri, silk trees (typically artificial ficus trees), trellis 
towers, garden fencing and edging, and other items composed of wood.
* * * * *
    7. Section 319.40-5 is amended by adding a new paragraph (o) to 
read as follows:


Sec.  319.40-5  Importation and entry requirements for specified 
articles.

* * * * *
    (o) Wooden handicrafts from China. Wooden handicrafts may be 
imported into the United States from China only in accordance with this 
paragraph and all other applicable provisions of this title.
    (1) Treatment. (i) Wooden handicrafts must be treated with heat 
treatment in accordance with Sec.  319.40-7(c) or heat treatment with 
moisture reduction in accordance with Sec.  319.40-7(d).
    (ii) Wooden handicrafts that are less than 6 inches in diameter may 
also be treated with methyl bromide fumigation in accordance with part 
305 of this chapter.
    (2) Phytosanitary certificate. All consignments of wooden 
handicrafts must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued 
by the national plant protection organization of China. The 
phytosanitary certificate must contain an additional declaration 
stating that the handicrafts were treated in accordance with this 
section and inspected and found free from quarantine pests.
    (3) Identification tag. All individual packages of wooden 
handicrafts must be labeled with a merchandise tag containing the 
identity of the product manufacturer. The identification tag must be 
applied to each package in China prior to exportation and remain 
attached to the package until it reaches the location at which the 
wooden handicraft will be sold in the United States.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 3rd day of April 2009.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
 [FR Doc. E9-8102 Filed 4-8-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P