[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 87 (Tuesday, May 6, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 25661-25662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10375]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 87 / Tuesday, May 6, 2014 / Rules and 
Regulations  

[[Page 25661]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation

7 CFR Part 1487

RIN 0551-AA71


Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and Commodity Credit 
Corporation (CCC), USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule amends an existing provision in the 
regulations for the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops Program 
(TASC). Section 3205 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 enacted on 
February 7, 2014, amended the existing TASC statute by striking 
``related barriers to trade'' and inserting ``technical barriers to 
trade''. This rule makes the corresponding change to the TASC 
regulations.

DATE: Effective June 5, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Slupek at (202) 720-4327, fax at 
(202) 720-9361, or by email at: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

    This rule is issued in conformance with Executive Order 12866. It 
has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of Executive 
Order 12866 and has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB). A cost-benefit assessment of this rule was not completed.

Executive Order 12988

    This rule has been reviewed in accordance with Executive Order 
12988. This rule does not preempt State or local laws, regulations, or 
policies unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with this rule. 
This rule would not be retroactive.

Executive Order 12372

    This program is not subject to Executive Order 12372, which 
requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local officials. 
See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V, and the related notice published at 48 
FR 29115 (June 24, 1983).

Executive Order 13175

    This rule does not have tribal implications as specified by 
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000) that will preempt 
Tribal law.

Executive Order 13132

    This rule does not have any substantial direct effect on States, on 
the relationship between the Federal government and the States, or on 
the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels 
of government, nor does this rule impose substantial direct compliance 
costs on State and local governments. Therefore, consultation with the 
States was not required.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act does not apply to this rule because 
CCC is not required by 5 U.S.C. 553 or any other law to publish a 
notice of proposed rulemaking with respect to the subject matter of 
this rule.

Environmental Assessment

    CCC has determined that this rule does not constitute a major State 
or Federal action that would significantly affect the human or natural 
environment, consistent with the regulations implementing the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 40 CFR parts 1500-1508. Therefore, no 
environmental assessment or environmental impact statement will be 
prepared.

Unfunded Mandates

    Although CCC is publishing this as a final rule, Title II of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) does not apply to this rule 
because this rule contains no unfunded mandates as defined in section 
202 of UMRA. Nor does this rule potentially affect small governments or 
contain significant Federal intergovernmental mandates.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, CCC has 
previously received approval from OMB with respect to the information 
collection required to support this program. The information collection 
is described below:
    Title: Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops.
    OMB Control Number: 0551-0038.

E-Government Act Compliance

    CCC is committed to complying 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. The forms, regulations, and other 
information collection activities required to be utilized by a person 
subject to this rule are available at http://www.fas.usda.gov.

Background

    This final rule amends the regulations at 7 CFR part 1487 
applicable to the TASC program. The Farm Security and Rural Investment 
Act of 2002, which was reauthorized by the Food, Conservation, and 
Energy Act of 2008, directed CCC to establish a program to provide 
mandatory funding to assist U.S. organizations to undertake projects 
that address sanitary, phytosanitary, and related barriers that 
prohibit or threaten the export of U.S. specialty crops. The Foreign 
Agricultural Service (FAS), which administers the TASC program on 
behalf of CCC, provides grant funds as direct assistance to U.S. 
organizations.
    In addressing sanitary and phytosanitary trade barriers, FAS has 
provided TASC funding for projects such as pre-clearance programs, 
export protocol and work support plans, pest and disease research, the 
development of pest lists, field surveys, seminars and other plant 
health related projects. Until the passage of the Agricultural Act of 
2014 (Pub. L. 113-79), certain export barriers such as quality or 
packaging issues and environmental sustainability labeling requirements 
could not be addressed under the TASC program because, although 
legitimate export barriers, they did not appear to meet the requirement 
of being related to a sanitary or phytosanitary barrier to trade. 
Industry groups requested Congress amend the law to broaden the types 
of trade barriers eligible under TASC. Section 3205 of the Agriculture

[[Page 25662]]

Act of 2014 amended the TASC statute by striking ``related barriers to 
trade'' and inserting ``technical barriers to trade'' in 7 U.S.C. 
5680(b).

Notice and Comment

    In general, the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 551 et.al) 
requires that a notice of proposed rulemaking be published in the 
Federal Register and interested persons be given an opportunity to 
participate in the rulemaking through submission of written data, 
views, or arguments with or without opportunity for oral presentation, 
except when the rule involves a matter relating to public property, 
loans, grants, benefits, or contracts. Because this rule involves 
grants and is a minor administrative change with no discretionary 
interpretation of law possible, CCC is publishing this rule without 
opportunity for public comment. The change will allow TASC funding of 
projects that address technical barriers to trade that are not related 
to any sanitary or phytosanitary barrier. In the past, the TASC program 
has been undersubscribed, while significant, but ineligible, trade 
barriers for specialty crops were unable to be addressed through the 
program. The specialty crops industry will now be able to use the 
program to fund a broader range of projects that all have the same 
underlying goal of increasing U.S. specialty crop exports. This change 
will increase the number of proposals that qualify for the program.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1487

    Agricultural commodities, Exports, Specialty crops.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 7 CFR part 1487 is amended 
as follows:

PART 1487--TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SPECIALTY CROPS

0
1. The authority citation for part 1487 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Sec. 3205 of Pub. L. 107-171.


0
2. Revise Sec.  1487.2 to read as follows:


Sec.  1487.2  What is the TASC program?

    Under the TASC program, CCC, an agency and instrumentality of the 
United States within the Department of Agriculture, provides funds to 
eligible organizations, on a grant basis, to implement activities that 
are intended to address a sanitary, phytosanitary, or technical barrier 
that prohibits or threatens the export of U.S. specialty crops that are 
currently available on a commercial basis. The TASC program is intended 
to benefit the represented industry rather than a specific company or 
brand. This program is administered by FAS.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on the 22nd of April, 2014.
Bryce Quick,
Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service, and Vice President, 
Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2014-10375 Filed 5-5-14; 8:45 am]
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