[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 124 (Monday, June 29, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36962-36964]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15880]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Foreign Agricultural Service


WTO Agricultural Quantity-Based 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-based 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: June 29, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Safeguard Staff, Import Policies and 
Export Reporting Division, Office of Trade Programs, Foreign 
Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

[[Page 36963]]

Stop 1020, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-1020; by 
telephone (202) 720-0638; or by fax (202) 720-0876.

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 
(2014) 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 WTO 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 4th day of June 2015.
Philip C. Karsting,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.

ANNEX

                                        Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger
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            Product               Trigger level                                Period
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Beef..........................  276,008 mt.......  January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
Mutton........................  3,233 mt.........  January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
Cream.........................  12,129 liters....  January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
Evaporated or Condensed Milk..  1,097,885          January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
                                 kilograms.
Nonfat Dry Milk...............  524,659 kilograms  January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
Dried Whole Milk..............  3,293,081          January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
                                 kilograms.
Dried Cream...................  662 kilograms....  January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
Dried Whey/Buttermilk.........  34,560 kilograms.  January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
Butter........................  9,414,976          January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
                                 kilograms.
Butter Oil and Butter           5,840,777          January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
 Substitutes.                    kilograms.
Dairy Mixtures................  14,384,611         January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
                                 kilograms.
Blue Cheese...................  4,779,080          January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
                                 kilograms.
Cheddar Cheese................  9,768,173          January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
                                 kilograms.
American-Type Cheese..........  14,668 kilograms.  January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
Edam/Gouda Cheese.............  7,700,542          January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
                                 kilograms.
Italian-Type Cheese...........  18,291,760         January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
                                 kilograms.
Swiss Cheese with Eye           26,807,720         January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
 Formation.                      kilograms.
Gruyere Process Cheese........  3,551,763          January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
                                 kilograms.
Lowfat Cheese.................  149,910 kilograms  January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
NSPF Cheese...................  50,415,571         January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
                                 kilograms.
Peanuts.......................  20,493 mt........  April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015.
                                19,037 mt........  April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016.
Peanut Butter/Paste...........  3,527 mt.........  January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
Raw Cane Sugar................  599,416 mt.......  October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015.
                                676,944 mt.......  October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016.
Refined Sugar and Syrups......  198,613 mt.......  October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015.
                                177,579 mt.......  October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016.
Blended Syrups................  60 mt............  October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015.
                                87 mt............  October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016.
Articles Over 65% Sugar.......  269 mt...........  October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015.
                                385 mt...........  October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016.
Articles Over 10% Sugar.......  15,471 mt........  October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015.
                                20,158 mt........  October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016.
Sweetened Cocoa Powder........  84 mt............  October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015.
                                86 mt............  October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016.
Chocolate Crumb...............  11,646,383         January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
                                 kilograms.
Lowfat Chocolate Crumb........  478,061 kilograms  January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
Infant Formula Containing       210,818 kilograms  January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
 Oligosaccharides.
Mixes and Doughs..............  170 mt...........  October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015.
                                230 mt...........  October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016.
Mixed Condiments and            653 mt...........  October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015.
 Seasonings.
                                961 mt...........  October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016.
Ice Cream.....................  2,552,994 liters.  January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.

[[Page 36964]]

 
Animal Feed Containing Milk...  53,195 kilograms.  January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
Short Staple Cotton...........  2,899,397          September 20, 2014 to September 19, 2015.
                                 kilograms.
                                2,330,949          September 20, 2015 to September 19, 2016.
                                 kilograms.
Harsh or Rough Cotton.........  0 kilograms......  August 1, 2014 to July 31, 2015.
                                0 kilograms......  August 1, 2015 to July 31, 2016.
Medium Staple Cotton..........  57,587 kilograms.  August 1, 2014 to July 31, 2015.
                                48,783 kilograms.  August 1, 2015 to July 31, 2016.
Extra Long Staple Cotton......  860,694 kilograms  August 1, 2014 to July 31, 2015.
                                1,505,611          August 1, 2015 to July 31, 2016.
                                 kilograms.
Cotton Waste..................  443,246 kilograms  September 20, 2014 to September 19, 2015.
                                793,048 kilograms  September 20, 2015 to September 19, 2016.
Cotton, Processed, Not Spun...  4,035 kilograms..  September 20, 2014 to September 19, 2015.
                                2,058 kilograms..  September 20, 2015 to September 19, 2016.
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[FR Doc. 2015-15880 Filed 6-26-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-10-P