[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 102 (Tuesday, May 30, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24455-24457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10986]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 102 / Tuesday, May 30, 2017 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 24455]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 1260
[No. AMS-LPS-15-0084]
Beef Promotion and Research Rules and Regulations
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This final rule amends the Beef Promotion and Research Order
(Order) established under the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985
(Act) by adding six Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes for imported
veal and veal products and updating assessment levels for imported veal
and veal products based on revised determinations of live animal
equivalencies. In addition to the foregoing, the Agricultural Marketing
Service (AMS) is amending the Order's definition of ``Imported beef or
beef products'' by deleting its reference to tariff numbers that are no
longer in use and obsolete.
DATES: Effective June 29, 2017.
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) 352-7497; or email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Orders 12866 and 13771, and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This rule does not meet the definition of a significant regulatory
action contained in section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, and is not
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Additionally, because this rule does not meet the definition of a
significant regulatory action it does not trigger the requirements
contained in Executive Order 13771. See OMB's Memorandum titled
``Interim Guidance Implementing Section 2 of the Executive Order of
January 30, 2017, titled `Reducing Regulation and Controlling
Regulatory Costs' '' (February 2, 2017). Pursuant to the requirements
set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) [5 U.S.C. 601 et
seq.], the Acting Administrator of AMS has considered the economic
effect of this action on small entities and has determined that this
final rule does 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, AMS estimates that
approximately 270 importers import beef and beef products and veal and
veal products into the U.S. and about 198 importers 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.
This final rule imposes no significant burden on the industry.
Importers are already required to pay assessments. It merely adds six
HTS codes for imported veal and veal products and updates assessment
rates 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 products into the U.S.
Accordingly, the Acting Administrator of AMS has determined that this
action does not have a significant impact on a substantial number of
small entities.
Executive Order 12988
This final 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 U.S. or
any state. There are no administrative proceedings that must be
exhausted prior to any judicial challenge to the provisions of this
rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with OMB regulations [5 CFR 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 on imported cattle, beef, and beef products. The term
``importer'' is defined as ``any person who imports cattle, beef, or
beef products from outside the United States'' [7 CFR 1260.117].
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'' [7 CFR 1260.121].
On March 16, 2016, AMS published a proposed rule in the Federal
Register [81 FR 14022] amending 7 CFR 1260.172 of the Order to add six
HTS codes for imported veal and veal
[[Page 24456]]
products. On May 6, 2016, AMS announced in a Notice to 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 new
assessment rates are calculated. On June 30, 2016, AMS published the
withdrawal notice in the Federal Register [81 FR 42576] and on August
23, 2016, published the corrected proposed rule in the Federal Register
[81 FR 57495].
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, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) received information from the Board
regarding assessments on imported veal. 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. In this final rule, the average dressed weight used to
determine the assessment on imported veal and veal products is 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 boneless veal
cuts, the conversion factor ``adds back'' the weight of the bones
removed from the product.
While the regulatory text in the proposed rule [81 FR 57495]
includes two brief tables containing only the specific changes and
additions, the regulatory text in this final rule includes
comprehensive tables incorporating the changes and additions within
previously existing tables that were never intended to be deleted.
Finally, upon further review of this final rule and the Order, AMS
discovered that the seven digit HTS codes listed under section
1260.121, which defines the term ``Imported beef or beef products,''
are no longer in use and obsolete. Those codes were replaced by 10
digit HTS codes currently found in section 7 CFR 1262.172(b)(2) of the
Order. As a result, AMS is amending the definition by removing those
obsolete HTS code references. No other changes are made to the
definition.
Summary of Comments
On August 23, 2016, AMS published a proposed rule with a request
for public comment. AMS received four timely comments. Three comments
were received from the Board and national veal and beef industry
organizations that were relevant to the proposed rule. One comment was
outside the scope of the rulemaking.
Three commenters discussed the conversion factor for bone-in and
boneless veal cuts. The commenters agreed with USDA's conversion factor
for bone-in veal cuts. However, the commenters disagreed with USDA's
conversion factor used for boneless imported veal cuts.
In the proposed rule, AMS used the conversion factor of 1.32 based
on Table 7 (Factors used to convert pounds of carcass weight to retail
and trimmed, boneless equivalent weights for red meats) of the
``Economic Research Service Agricultural Handbook Number 697, Weights,
Measures, and Conversion Factors for Agricultural Commodities and Their
Products (June 1992)'' (Handbook). However, the three commenters
suggested that AMS should use the conversion factor of 1.46 for veal
grading choice and good from Table 10 (Factors for converting pounds of
boneless meat to untrimmed bone-in equivalent) of the Handbook because
the conversion factor of 1.32 converts the boneless veal back to 0.904
pounds of bone-in veal rather than one pound. The conversion factor of
1.46 (proposed by the commenters) converts 0.685 pounds of boneless
veal back to one pound of bone-in veal based on the equation:
0.685(1.46) = 1.0.
AMS believes the comments have merit. Accordingly, the new
assessment rates for veal and veal products will be:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR30MY17.010
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR30MY17.011
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 set forth in the preamble, AMS amends 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. Revise Sec. 1260.121 to read as follows:
Sec. 1260.121 Imported beef or beef products
Imported beef or beef products means products which are imported
into the United States which the Secretary
[[Page 24457]]
determines contain a substantial amount of beef including those
products which have been assigned one or more numbers in the Tariff
Schedule of the United States.
0
3. 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,
are as follows:
Imported Live Cattle
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Assessment
HTS No. rate per head
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0102.10.0010............................................ $1.00
0102.10.0020............................................ 1.00
0102.10.0030............................................ 1.00
0102.10.0050............................................ 1.00
0102.90.2011............................................ 1.00
0102.90.2012............................................ 1.00
0102.90.4024............................................ 1.00
0102.90.4028............................................ 1.00
0102.90.4034............................................ 1.00
0102.90.4038............................................ 1.00
0102.90.4054............................................ 1.00
0102.90.4058............................................ 1.00
0102.90.4062............................................ 1.00
0102.90.4064............................................ 1.00
0102.90.4066............................................ 1.00
0102.90.4068............................................ 1.00
0102.90.4072............................................ 1.00
0102.90.4074............................................ 1.00
0102.90.4082............................................ 1.00
0102.90.4084............................................ 1.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Imported Beef and Beef Products
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Assessment
HTS No. rate per kg
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0201.10.0510............................................ .01431558
0201.10.0590............................................ .00379102
0201.10.1010............................................ .01431558
0201.10.1090............................................ .00379102
0201.10.5010............................................ .01431558
0201.10.5090............................................ .00511787
0201.20.0200............................................ .00530743
0201.20.0400............................................ .00511787
0201.20.0600............................................ .00379102
0201.20.1000............................................ .00530743
0201.20.3000............................................ .00511787
0201.20.5000............................................ .00379102
0201.20.5010............................................ .01431558
0201.20.5020............................................ .01431558
0201.20.8090............................................ .00379102
0201.30.0200............................................ .00530743
0201.30.0400............................................ .00511787
0201.30.0600............................................ .00379102
0201.30.1000............................................ .00530743
0201.30.3000............................................ .00511787
0201.30.5000............................................ .00511787
0201.30.5010............................................ .02090075
0201.30.5020............................................ .02090075
0201.30.8090............................................ .00511787
0202.10.0510............................................ .01431558
0202.10.0590............................................ .00379102
0202.10.1010............................................ .01431558
0202.10.1090............................................ .00370102
0202.10.5010............................................ .01431558
0202.10.5090............................................ .00379102
0202.20.0200............................................ .00530743
0202.20.0400............................................ .00511787
0202.20.0600............................................ .00379102
0202.20.1000............................................ .00530743
0202.20.3000............................................ .00511787
0202.20.5000............................................ .00379102
0202.20.8000............................................ .00379102
0202.30.0200............................................ .00530743
0202.30.0400............................................ .00511787
0202.30.0600............................................ .00527837
0202.30.1000............................................ .00530743
0202.30.3000............................................ .00511787
0202.30.5000............................................ .00511787
0202.30.5010............................................ .02090075
0202.30.5020............................................ .02090075
0202.30.8000............................................ .00379102
0206.10.0000............................................ .00379102
0206.21.0000............................................ .00379102
0206.22.0000............................................ .00379102
0206.29.0000............................................ .00379102
0210.20.0000............................................ .00615701
1601.00.4010............................................ .00473877
1601.00.4090............................................ .00473877
1601.00.6020............................................ .00473877
1602.50.0900............................................ .00663428
1602.50.1020............................................ .00663428
1602.50.1040............................................ .00663428
1602.50.2020............................................ .00701388
1602.50.2040............................................ .00701388
1602.50.6000............................................ .00720293
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Dated: May 23, 2017.
Bruce Summers,
Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-10986 Filed 5-26-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P