[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 13, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22512-22514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11108]


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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.

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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. This notice 
also includes the relevant period applicable for the trigger levels on 
each of the listed products.

DATES: Effective Date: May 13, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lana Bennett, Import Policies and 
Export Reporting Division, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, Stop 1021, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20250-1021, telephone at (202) 720-0638, 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

[[Page 22513]]

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, 
dated December 23, 1994, 60 FR 1005 (Jan. 4, 1995). The Secretary of 
Agriculture further delegated the duty to the Administrator of the 
Foreign Agricultural Service (7 CFR 2.43 (a)(2) (2007)). 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 
(2007) and in the Secretary of Agriculture's Notice of Uruguay Round 
Agricultural Safeguard Trigger Levels, published in the Federal 
Register at 60 FR 427 (Jan. 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. The definitions of 
these products were provided in the Notice of Uruguay Round 
Agricultural Safeguard Trigger Levels, published in the Federal 
Register, at 60 FR 427 (Jan. 4, 1995).

    Issued at Washington, DC, this 29th day of April 2009.
Patricial R. Sheikh,
Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.

ANNEX

                                        Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger
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             Product                 Trigger level                               Period
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Beef............................  317,662 mt.........  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Mutton..........................  6,808 mt...........  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Cream...........................  1,125,550 liters...  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Evaporated or Condensed Milk....  5,234,255 kilograms  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Nonfat Dry Milk.................  219,775 kilograms..  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Dried Whole Milk................  2,239,115 kilograms  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Dried Cream.....................  29,393 kilograms...  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Dried Whey/Buttermilk...........  19,998 kilograms...  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Butter..........................  7,514,294 kilograms  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Butter Oil and Butter             6,541,513 kilograms  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
 Substitutes.
Dairy Mixtures..................  52,092,707           January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
                                   kilograms.
Blue Cheese.....................  5,229,457 kilograms  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Cheddar Cheese..................  12,279,311           January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
                                   kilograms.
American-Type Cheese............  8,841,320 kilograms  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Edam/Gouda Cheese...............  8,013,001 kilograms  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Italian-Type Cheese.............  23,312,030           January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
                                   kilograms.
Swiss Cheese with Eye Formation.  30,506,943           January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
                                   kilograms.
Gruyere Process Cheese..........  5,517,302 kilograms  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Lowfat Cheese...................  956,596 kilograms..  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
NSPF Cheese.....................  50,252,329           January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
                                   kilograms.
Peanuts.........................  12,096 mt..........  April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009.
                                  15,172 mt..........  April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010.
Peanut Butter/Paste.............  4,183 mt...........  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Raw Cane Sugar..................  1,462,968 mt.......  October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
                                  1,407,556 mt.......  October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.
Refined Sugar and Syrups........  175,217 mt.........  October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
                                  191,180 mt.........  October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.
Blended Syrups..................  72 mt..............  October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
                                  107 mt.............  October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.
Articles Over 65% Sugar.........  669 mt.............  October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
                                  578 mt.............  October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.
Articles Over 10% Sugar.........  16,759 mt..........  October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
                                  15,617 mt..........  October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.
Sweetened Cocoa Powder..........  1,329 mt...........  October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
                                  1,249 mt...........  October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.
Chocolate Crumb.................  9,296,789 kilograms  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Lowfat Chocolate Crumb..........  229,577 kilograms..  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Infant Formula Containing         9,173 kilograms....  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
 Oligosaccharides.
Mixes and Doughs................  243 mt.............  October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
                                  315 mt.............  October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.
Mixed Condiments and Seasonings.  128 mt.............  October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
                                  176 mt.............  October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.
Ice Cream.......................  2,810,259 liters...  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Animal Feed Containing Milk.....  23,363 kilograms...  January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Short Staple Cotton.............  669,917 kilograms..  September 20, 2008 to September 19, 2009.
                                  699,482 kilograms..  September 20, 2009 to September 19, 2010.
Harsh or Rough Cotton...........  0 kilograms........  August 1, 2008 to July 31, 2009.
                                  0 kilograms........  August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2010.
Medium Staple Cotton............  1,723,796 kilograms  August 1, 2008 to July 31, 2009.
                                  688,341 kilograms..  August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2010.
Extra Long Staple Cotton........  4,416,936 kilograms  August 1, 2008 to July 31, 2009.
                                  3,656,233 kilograms  August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2010.

[[Page 22514]]

 
Cotton Waste....................  70,768 kilograms...  September 20, 2008 to September 19, 2009.
                                  395,745 kilograms..  September 20, 2009 to September 19, 2010.
Cotton, Processed, Not Spun.....  10,205 kilograms...  September 11, 2008 to September 10, 2009.
                                  3,995 kilograms....  September 11, 2009 to September 10, 2010.
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.[FR Doc. E9-11108 Filed 5-12-09; 8:45 am]
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