[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 102 (Friday, May 25, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31296-31298]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-12691]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Foreign Agricultural Service


WTO Agricultural Safeguard Trigger Levels

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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 25, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Safeguard Staff, Import Policies and 
Export Reporting Division, Office of Trade Programs, Foreign 
Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Stop 1021, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-1021; or by telephone at 
(202) 720-0638, or by email at [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, 
dated December 23, 1994, 60 FR 1005 (Jan. 4, 1995). The Secretary of 
Agriculture further delegated this duty, which lies with 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 
(2012) 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 Safeguard Action published in the Federal Register, at 60 
FR 427 (Jan. 4, 1995).


    Issued at Washington, DC, this 15th day of May 2012.
Suzanne E. Heinen,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.

                                     Annex--Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger
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               Product                      Trigger level                            Period
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Beef.................................  242,780 mt.............  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Mutton...............................  5,576 mt...............  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Cream................................  867,562 liters.........  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Evaporated or Condensed Milk.........  2,262,128 kilograms....  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Nonfat Dry Milk......................  327,518 kilograms......  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Dried Whole Milk.....................  2,135,595 kilograms....  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Dried Cream..........................  21,166 kilograms.......  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Dried Whey/Buttermilk................  18,594 kilograms.......  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Butter...............................  6,188,045 kilograms....  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Butter Oil and Butter Substitutes....  6,441,469 kilograms....  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Dairy Mixtures.......................  30,574,663 kilograms...  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Blue Cheese..........................  4,530,512 kilograms....  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.

[[Page 31297]]

 
Cheddar Cheese.......................  9,824,536 kilograms....  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
American-Type Cheese.................  4,978,590 kilograms....  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Edam/Gouda Cheese....................  6,388,906 kilograms....  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Italian-Type Cheese..................  21,718,995 kilograms...  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Swiss Cheese with Eye Formation......  26,060,155 kilograms...  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Gruy[egrave]re Process Cheese........  3,411,433 kilograms....  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Lowfat Cheese........................  448,925 kilograms......  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
NSPF Cheese..........................  41,636,693 kilograms...  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Peanuts..............................  18,176 mt..............  April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011.
                                       19,279 mt..............  April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012.
Peanut Butter/Paste..................  4,493 mt...............  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Raw Cane Sugar.......................  1,142,815 mt...........  October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011.
                                       1,278,131 mt...........  October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012.
Refined Sugar and Syrups.............  176,800 mt.............  October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011.
                                       203,088 mt.............  October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012.
Blended Syrups.......................  134 mt.................  October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011.
                                       192 mt.................  October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012.
Articles Over 65% Sugar..............  277 mt.................  October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011.
                                       247 mt.................  October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012.
Articles Over 10% Sugar..............  15,083 mt..............  October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011.
                                       16,434 mt..............  October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012.
Sweetened Cocoa Powder...............  1,054 mt...............  October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011.
                                       700 mt.................  October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012.
Chocolate Crumb......................  8,051,334 kilograms....  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Lowfat Chocolate Crumb...............  211,289 kilograms......  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Infant Formula Containing              582,933 kilograms......  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
 Oligosaccharides.
Mixes and Doughs.....................  383 mt.................  October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011.
                                       286 mt.................  October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012.
Mixed Condiments and Seasonings......  280 mt.................  October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011.
                                       432 mt.................  October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012.
Ice Cream............................  2,309,155 liters.......  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Animal Feed Containing Milk..........  39,223 kilograms.......  January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Short Staple Cotton..................  591,350 kilograms......  September 20, 2010 to September 19, 2011.
                                       30,605 kilograms.......  September 20, 2011 to September 19, 2012.
Harsh or Rough Cotton................  0 kilograms............  August 1, 2010 to July 31, 2011.
                                       60 kilograms...........  August 1, 2011 to July 31, 2012.
Medium Staple Cotton.................  149,148 kilograms......  August 1, 2010 to July 31, 2011.
                                       51,298 kilograms.......  August 1, 2011 to July 31, 2012.
Extra Long Staple Cotton.............  2,017,042 kilograms....  August 1, 2010 to July 31, 2011.
                                       1,007,631 kilograms....  August 1, 2011 to July 31, 2012.

[[Page 31298]]

 
Cotton Waste.........................  432,133 kilograms......  September 20, 2010 to September 19, 2011.
                                       595,320 kilograms......  September 20, 2011 to September 19, 2012.
Cotton, Processed, Not Spun..........  31,338 kilograms.......  September 11, 2010 to September 10, 2011.
                                       75,787 kilograms.......  September 11, 2011 to September 10, 2012.
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[FR Doc. 2012-12691 Filed 5-24-12; 8:45 am]
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