[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2131-2132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00576]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2018 / 
Notices  

[[Page 2131]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2016-0038]


Notice of Determination of the Classical Swine Fever Status of 
Mexico

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public of our determination that Mexico is 
free of classical swine fever (CSF). Based on our evaluation of the 
animal health status of Mexico, which we made available to the public 
for review and comment through a previous notice, the Administrator has 
determined that CSF is not present in Mexico and that live swine, pork, 
and pork products may safely be imported into the United States from 
Mexico subject to conditions in the regulations.

DATES: This change in disease status will be recognized on January 16, 
2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Chip Wells, Senior Staff 
Veterinarian, Regionalization Evaluation Services, National Import 
Export Services, VS, APHIS, USDA, 4700 River Road, Unit 38, Riverdale, 
MD 20737-1231; [email protected]; (301) 851-3317.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 
regulates the importation of animals and animal products into the 
United States to guard against the introduction of animal diseases not 
currently present or prevalent in this country. The regulations in 9 
CFR part 94 (referred to below as the regulations) prohibit or restrict 
the importation of specified animals and animal products to prevent the 
introduction into the United States of various animal diseases, 
including classical swine fever (CSF), foot-and-mouth disease, swine 
vesicular disease, and rinderpest. These are dangerous and communicable 
diseases of ruminants and swine.
    The regulations in Sec.  94.32 specify conditions for the 
importation of live swine, pork, and pork products from certain regions 
that APHIS currently recognizes as CSF-free but whose products may be 
at risk of commingling with products from CSF-affected regions due to 
common land borders or other factors. The conditions for such imports 
include, among others, a requirement for certification by a full-time 
salaried veterinary officer of the national government of the region of 
export that the pork or pork products originated in a CSF-free region, 
requirements that the pork or pork products be derived only from swine 
that were born and raised in such a region and never lived in a CSF-
affected region, a prohibition against the comingling of the pork or 
pork products with pork or pork products that have been in an affected 
region, and a requirement that any processing of the pork or pork 
products be done in a federally inspected processing plant in a CSF-
free region.
    The regulations in 9 CFR part 92 contain requirements for 
requesting the recognition of the animal health status of a region or 
for the approval of the export of a particular type of animal or animal 
product to the United States from a foreign region. If, after review 
and evaluation of the information submitted in support of the request 
APHIS believes the request can be safely granted, APHIS will make its 
evaluation available for public comment through a notice published in 
the Federal Register. Following the close of the comment period, APHIS 
will review all comments received and will make a final determination 
regarding the request that will be detailed in another notice published 
in the Federal Register.
    In response to a series of requests submitted by the Government of 
Mexico between 2007 and 2009, we conducted a qualitative risk 
evaluation to evaluate the CSF status of Mexican States other than the 
nine States already recognized at that time as CSF-free. The resulting 
risk evaluation document, ``APHIS Evaluation of the CSF Status of a 
Region in Mexico'' (referred to below as the ``2013 risk evaluation''), 
did not support CSF-free recognition of all of Mexico; however, it did 
support access to the U.S. domestic market under certain risk-
mitigating conditions. Based on the findings of the 2013 risk 
evaluation, on July 29, 2014, we published in the Federal Register (79 
FR 43974-43980, Docket No. APHIS-2013-0061) a proposal \1\ to amend the 
regulations by recognizing a new APHIS-defined low-risk CSF region 
consisting of all Mexican States except the nine CSF-free States and 
the State of Chiapas, which we did not recognize as CSF-free.
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    \1\ To view the 2013 risk evaluation, the proposed rule, and the 
comments we received, go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0061.
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    In February 2015, Mexico received notice that the World 
Organization for Animal Health (OIE) recognized the country as CSF-
free. Citing the OIE decision, the Government of Mexico then requested 
that APHIS suspend its rulemaking and instead continue evaluating 
Mexico for CSF-free status.
    In response to this request, APHIS reopened its evaluation of the 
CSF status of Mexico. This reevaluation incorporated findings from a 
2015 APHIS site visit report, along with updated surveillance data and 
other information submitted by Mexico. These findings are documented in 
an April 2016 addendum to the 2013 risk evaluation.
    On August 8, 2017, we published in the Federal Register (82 FR 
37043-37044, Docket No. APHIS-2016-0038) a notice \2\ in which we 
announced the availability for review and comment of the April 2016 
addendum to the 2013 risk evaluation. In the addendum, we presented the 
results of our updated evaluation of the risk of introducing CSF into 
the United States via the importation of live swine, pork, and pork 
products from Mexico.
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    \2\ To view the notice, the addendum, and the comment we 
received, go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-
2016-0038.
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    We solicited comments on the notice for 60 days ending on October 
10, 2017. We received one comment by that date, from a domestic pork 
industry group.
    The commenter supported our conclusion, as stated in the addendum, 
that the risk of introduction of CSF into the United States via the 
importation of live swine, pork, and pork products from Mexico is very 
low. Referencing a recommendation by our site visit team

[[Page 2132]]

that certain improvements should be made to slaughterhouse surveillance 
in Mexico, however, the commenter urged APHIS to ensure that those 
improvements were implemented before authorizing pork imports from 
Mexico.
    In the April 2016 risk evaluation addendum, we indicated that our 
recommended improvements notwithstanding, the design of Mexico's active 
surveillance system for CSF is adequate. We made no statement 
suggesting that recognition of Mexico as CSF-free or trade with Mexico 
would be contingent upon any action by the Mexican Government to 
improve slaughter surveillance.
    Based on the addendum and the reasons given in this document in 
response to comments, we are recognizing Mexico as free of CSF and 
adding it to the list of regions found on the APHIS website at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/animals/animal_disease_status.shtml 
that are considered to be free of CSF but from which live swine, pork, 
and pork products may only be imported into the United States under 
certain conditions. Copies of the list are also available via postal 
mail, fax, or email from the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701-7772, 7781-7786, and 8301-8317; 21 
U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.

    Done in Washington, DC, on January 10, 2018.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-00576 Filed 1-12-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-34-P