[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33200-33201]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-12321]


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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: May 25, 2016.

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 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 
(2016) 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 25th day of April 2016.
Suzanne Palmieri,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.

Annex

[[Page 33201]]



                    Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger
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            Product               Trigger level            Period
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Beef..........................  317,530 mt.......  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Mutton........................  3,316 mt.........  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Cream.........................  2,789 liters.....  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Evaporated or Condensed Milk..  1,173,090 kg.....  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Nonfat Dry Milk...............  525,441 kg.......  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Dried Whole Milk..............  3,406,679 kg.....  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Dried Cream...................  586 kg...........  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Dried Whey/Buttermilk.........  18,198 kg........  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Butter........................  13,656,765 kg....  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Butter Oil and Butter           6,076,713 kg.....  January 1, 2016 to
 Substitutes.                                       December 31, 2016.
Dairy Mixtures................  15,718,595 kg....  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Blue Cheese...................  4,865,957 kg.....  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Cheddar Cheese................  11,292,096 kg....  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
American-Type Cheese..........  663,153 kg.......  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Edam/Gouda Cheese.............  8,161,533 kg.....  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Italian-Type Cheese...........  19,591,643 kg....  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Swiss Cheese with Eye           28,790,738 kg....  January 1, 2016 to
 Formation.                                         December 31, 2016.
Gruyere Process Cheese........  3,745,854 kg.....  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
NSPF Cheese...................  52,603,975 kg....  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Lowfat Cheese.................  153,319 kg.......  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Peanuts.......................  19,037 mt........  April 1, 2015 to
                                                    March 31, 2016.
                                13,106 mt........  April 1, 2016 to
                                                    March 31, 2017.
Peanut Butter/Paste...........  3,592 mt.........  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Raw Cane Sugar................  676,944 mt.......  October 1, 2015 to
                                                    September 30, 2016.
                                617,282 mt.......  October 1, 2016 to
                                                    September 30, 2017.
Refined Sugar and Syrups......  177,579 mt.......  October 1, 2015 to
                                                    September 30, 2016.
                                355,264 mt.......  October 1, 2016 to
                                                    September 30, 2017.
Blended Syrups................  87 mt............  October 1, 2015 to
                                                    September 30, 2016.
                                106 mt...........  October 1, 2016 to
                                                    September 30, 2017.
Articles Over 65% Sugar.......  385 mt...........  October 1, 2015 to
                                                    September 30, 2016.
                                415 mt...........  October 1, 2016 to
                                                    September 30, 2017.
Articles Over 10% Sugar.......  20,158 mt........  October 1, 2015 to
                                                    September 30, 2016.
                                18,930 mt........  October 1, 2016 to
                                                    September 30, 2017.
Sweetened Cocoa Powder........  86 mt............  October 1, 2015 to
                                                    September 30, 2016.
                                72 mt............  October 1, 2016 to
                                                    September 30, 2017.
Chocolate Crumb...............  12,167,560 kg....  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Lowfat Chocolate Crumb........  500,069 kg.......  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Infant Formula Containing       309,726 kg.......  January 1, 2016 to
 Oligosaccharides.                                  December 31, 2016.
Mixes and Doughs..............  230 mt...........  October 1, 2014 to
                                                    September 30, 2015.
                                234 mt...........  October 1, 2015 to
                                                    September 30, 2016.
Mixed Condiments and            961 mt...........  October 1, 2015 to
 Seasonings.                                        September 30, 2016.
                                894 mt...........  October 1, 2016 to
                                                    September 30, 2017.
Ice Cream.....................  2,964,185 liters.  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Animal Feed Containing Milk...  27,792 kg........  January 1, 2016 to
                                                    December 31, 2016.
Short Staple Cotton...........  2,330,949 kg.....  September 20, 2015 to
                                                    September 19, 2016.
                                1,363,307 kg.....  September 20, 2016 to
                                                    September 19, 2017.
Harsh or Rough Cotton.........  0 kilograms......  August 1, 2015 to
                                                    July 31, 2016.
                                13 kg............  August 1, 2016 to
                                                    July 31, 2017.
Medium Staple Cotton..........  48,783 kg........  August 1, 2015 to
                                                    July 31, 2016.
                                0 kg.............  August 1, 2016 to
                                                    July 31, 2017.
Extra Long Staple Cotton......  1,505,611 kg.....  August 1, 2015 to
                                                    July 31, 2016.
                                1,270,096 kg.....  August 1, 2016 to
                                                    July 31, 2017.
Cotton Waste..................  793,048 kg.......  September 20, 2015 to
                                                    September 19, 2016.
                                925,273 kg.......  September 20, 2016 to
                                                    September 19, 2017.
Cotton, Processed, Not Spun...  2,058 kg.........  September 20, 2015 to
                                                    September 19, 2016.
                                51 kg............  September 20, 2016 to
                                                    September 19, 2017.
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[FR Doc. 2016-12321 Filed 5-24-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-10-P