[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 23, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57495-57497]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20098]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1260

[No. AMS-LPS-15-0084]


Amendment to the Beef Promotion and Research Rules and 
Regulations

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would amend the Beef Promotion and Research 
Order (Order) established under the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 
1985 (Act) to add six Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) codes for imported 
veal and veal products and update assessment levels for imported veal 
and veal products based on revised determinations of live animal 
equivalencies.

DATES: Comments must be received by October 24, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be posted online at www.regulations.gov. 
Comments received will be posted without change, including any personal 
information provided. All comments should reference the docket number 
AMS-LPS-15-0084; the date of submission; and the page number of this 
issue of the Federal Register. Comments may also be sent to Mike 
Dinkel, Agricultural Marketing Specialist, Research and Promotion 
Division, Livestock, Poultry, and Seed Program, AMS, USDA, Room 2610-S, 
STOP 0249, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-0249; or 
via fax (202) 720-1125. Comments will be made available for public 
inspection at the above address during regular business hours or via 
the Internet at www.regulations.gov. Comments must be received by 
October 24, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Dinkel, Agricultural Marketing 
Specialist, Research and Promotion Division, Livestock, Poultry, and 
Seed Program, AMS, USDA, Room 2610-S, STOP 0249, 1400 Independence 
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-0249; fax (202) 720-1125; telephone 
(301) 352-

[[Page 57496]]

7497; or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has waived the review 
process required by Executive Order 12866 for this action.

Executive Order 12988

    This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
Civil Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have a retroactive 
effect.
    Section 11 of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2910) provides that nothing in the 
Act may be construed to preempt or supersede any other program relating 
to beef promotion organized and operated under the laws of the United 
States or any State. There are no administrative proceedings that must 
be exhausted prior to any judicial challenge to the provisions of this 
rule.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the Administrator of the 
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the economic effect 
of this action on small entities and has determined that this proposed 
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small business entities. The effect of the Order upon small 
entities was discussed in the July 18, 1986, Federal Register [51 FR 
26132]. The purpose of RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of 
businesses subject to such actions in order that small businesses will 
not be unduly burdened.
    Based on conversations with importing companies, there are 
approximately 270 importers who import beef and beef products and veal 
and veal products into the U.S. and about 198 importers who import live 
cattle into the U.S. The majority of these operations subject to the 
Order are considered small businesses under the criteria established by 
the Small Business Administration (SBA) [13 CFR 121.201]. SBA defines 
small agricultural service firms as those having annual receipts of 
$7.5 million or less.
    The proposed rule will impose no significant burden on the 
industry. It will merely add six HTS codes for imported veal and veal 
products and update assessment levels for imported veal and veal 
products based on revised determinations of live animal equivalencies. 
The addition of HTS codes reflects an increase of imported veal and 
veal product into the U.S. Accordingly, the Administrator of AMS has 
determined that this action will not have a significant impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with OMB regulations [5 CFR part 1320] that implement 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C. Chapter 35], the 
information collection and recordkeeping requirements contained in the 
Order and accompanying Rules and Regulations have previously been 
approved by OMB under OMB control number 0581-0093.

Background

    The Act authorized the establishment of a national beef promotion 
and research program. The final Order was published in the Federal 
Register on July 18, 1986 (51 FR 21632), and the collection of 
assessments began on October 1, 1986. The program is administered by 
the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board (Board), appointed by 
the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) from industry nominations, and 
composed of 100 cattle producers and importers. The program is funded 
by a $1-per-head assessment on producers selling cattle in the U.S. as 
well as an equivalent assessment on importers of cattle, beef, and beef 
products.
    Importers pay assessments on imported cattle, beef, and beef 
products. U.S. Customs and Border Protection collects and remits the 
assessment to the Board. The term ``importer'' is defined as ``any 
person who imports cattle, beef, or beef products from outside the 
United States.'' Imported beef or beef products is defined as 
``products which are imported into the United States which the 
Secretary determines contain a substantial amount of beef including 
those products, which have been assigned one or more of the following 
numbers in the Tariff Schedule of the United States.''
    On March 16, 2016, AMS published a proposed rule in the Federal 
Register (81 FR 14022) amending Sec.  1260.172 of the Order to add six 
HTS codes for imported veal and veal products. On May 6, 2016, AMS 
announced in a Notice to the Trade that it was withdrawing the proposed 
rule because an error was discovered in the imported veal carcass 
weight. AMS also announced at that time that it intended to publish 
another proposed rule with the correct carcass weight and to include 
the formula and an explanation of how the calculations for the new 
assessment rates are calculated. On June 30, 2016, AMS published the 
withdrawal Notice in the Federal Register (81 FR 42576). This proposed 
rule replaces the March 16, 2016, version. In Sec.  1260.172 of the 
Order, the table would be revised to include the new codes and 
assessment rates for imported veal and veal products.
    The Act requires that assessments on imported beef and beef 
products and veal and veal products be determined by converting such 
imports into live animal equivalents to ascertain the corresponding 
number of head of cattle. Carcass weight is the principle factor in 
calculating live animal equivalents.
    Prior to publishing the March 16, 2016, proposed rule, USDA 
received information from the Board regarding imported veal 
assessments. The Board requested expanding the number of HTS codes for 
imported veal and veal products in order to capture product that is not 
currently being assessed and to update the live animal equivalency rate 
on imported veal to reflect the same assessment as domestic veal and 
veal products. The Board also suggested that AMS update the dressed 
veal weight to better reflect current dressed veal weights. The Board 
recommended using an average dressed veal weight from 2010 to the most 
current data. The Board stated that establishing an average over this 
period of time takes into account short-term highs and lows due to the 
cattle cycle, weather effects, and feed prices. This average would be 
154 pounds.
    In order to convert carcasses and cuts back to a live animal 
equivalency, conversion factors are used. The conversion factor takes 
into account what is lost (feet, head, tail, hide, internal organs, and 
bone for boneless product) as the veal is processed into carcasses, 
bone-in cuts, and boneless cuts.
    For bone-in carcasses and cuts, a one-to-one ratio is used to 
convert product weight to a live animal equivalent. For these items, a 
conversion factor of 1.00 is used.
    For boneless veal cuts, the conversion factor ``adds back'' the 
weight of the bones removed from the product. For boneless veal cuts, a 
conversion factor of 1.32 is used.
    To determine the conversion factor of boneless veal cuts to carcass 
weight equivalents, AMS used the latest boneless veal factor for pounds 
(0.685) from Table 7 of the Economic Research Service Agricultural 
Handbook Number 697, Weights, Measures, and Conversion Factors for 
Agricultural Commodities and Their Products (June 1992), subtracted 
this factor from ``1,'' and added ``1'' to the result, as follows:

(1-0.685) + 1 = 1.315 (rounded to 1.32)


[[Page 57497]]


    The assessment per kilograms is determined by dividing the 
conversion factor by the carcass weight and multiplying it by the 
pounds-to-kilograms factor of 2.2046.

Calculations:
     Carcass and Bone-in Cuts
    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP23AU16.007
    
     Boneless Cuts
    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP23AU16.003
    
    These rates appear as assessment rates in the HTS code tables in 
Sec.  1260.172.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1260

    Administrative practice and procedure, Advertising, Agricultural 
research, Imports, Marketing agreement, Meat and meat products, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, AMS proposes to amend 7 CFR 
part 1260 as follows:

PART 1260--BEEF PROMOTION AND RESEARCH

0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1260 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 2901-2911 and 7 U.S.C. 7401.

0
2. Amend Sec.  1260.172 by revising paragraph (b) (2) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  1260.172  Assessments.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (2) The assessment rates for imported cattle, beef, beef products, 
veal, and veal products are as follows:

                     Imported Beef and Beef Products
                                 [Veal]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Assessment rate
            HTS No.                Item description          per kg
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0201.10.0510..................  Veal carcasses and             .01431558
                                 half carcasses.
0201.10.1010..................  Misc. Veal............         .01431558
0201.10.5010..................  Misc. Veal............         .01431558
0202.10.0510..................  Veal carcasses and             .01431558
                                 half carcasses.
0202.10.1010..................  Veal carcasses and             .01431558
                                 half carcasses.
0202.10.5010..................  Veal carcasses and             .01431558
                                 half carcasses.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                     Imported Beef and Beef Products
                                 [Veal]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Assessment rate
            HTS No.                Item description          per kg
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0201.20.5010..................  Fresh or chilled bone          .01431558
                                 in veal cuts.
0201.20.5020..................  Other.................         .01431558
0201.30.5010..................  Fresh or chilled               .01889657
                                 boneless veal cuts.
0201.30.5020..................  Other.................         .01889657
0202.30.5010..................  Frozen boneless veal           .01889657
                                 cuts.
0202.30.5020..................  Other.................         .01889657
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

    Dated: August 18, 2016
Elanor Starmer,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-20098 Filed 8-22-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-02-P