[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 3, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31118-31119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-14312]


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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: July 3, 2018.

ADDRESSES: 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Souleymane Diaby, (202) 720-0638, 
[email protected].

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 when the volume of imports of that product exceeds 
the sum of (1) a base trigger level multiplied by the average of the 
last three years of available import data and (2) the change in yearly 
consumption in the most recent year for which data are available 
(provided that the final trigger level is not less than 105 percent of 
the three-year import average). The base trigger level is set at 105, 
110, or 125 percent of the three-year import average, depending on the 
percentage of domestic consumption that is represented by imports. 
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, which are set at 125 
percent of the most recent 3-year average level of imports for each 
commodity, consistent with the provisions of Article 5.
    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 
(2018) 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 superseded 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 18th day of June 2018.
Ken Isley,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.

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                                                          Quantity-based safeguard trigger
             Product              ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Trigger level          Unit                          Period
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Beef.............................         298,248  MT.................  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Mutton...........................           5,103  MT.................  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Cream............................       1,323,021  Liters.............  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Evaporated or Condensed Milk.....       3,867,417  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Nonfat Dry Milk..................       1,267,208  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Dried Whole Milk.................      12,116,875  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Dried Cream......................          10,167  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Dried Whey/Buttermilk............         245,833  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Butter \1\.......................      29,959,300  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Butteroil........................       8,183,833  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Chocolate Crumb..................      10,487,292  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Lowfat Chocolate Crumb...........         163,000  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Animal Feed Containing Milk......       1,154,583  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Ice Cream........................       5,925,091  Liters.............  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Dairy Mixtures...................      18,623,423  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Infant Formula Containing               3,909,000  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
 Oligosaccharides.
Blue Cheese......................       4,179,292  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Cheddar Cheese...................      11,799,917  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.

[[Page 31119]]

 
American-Type Cheese.............       1,121,250  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Edam/Gouda Cheese................       8,804,167  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Italian-Type Cheese..............      21,480,750  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Swiss Cheese with Eye Formation..      29,604,667  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Gruyere Process Cheese...........       3,801,292  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
NSPF Cheese......................      52,789,750  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Lowfat Cheese....................         443,875  Kilograms..........  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Peanut Butter/Paste..............           4,314  MT.................  Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018.
Peanuts \1\......................          14,577  MT.................  April 1, 2017-Mar 31, 2018.
                                           40,078  MT.................  April 1, 2018-Mar 31, 2019.
Raw Cane Sugar \1\...............         723,461  MT.................  Oct 1, 2017-Sept 30, 2018.
                                          574,933  MT.................  Oct 1, 2018-Sept 30, 2019.
Refined Sugars and Syrups \1\....         444,126  MT.................  Oct 1, 2017-Sept 30, 2018.
                                          396,386  MT.................  Oct 1, 2018-Sept 30, 2019.
Articles over 65% Sugar..........             451  MT.................  Oct 1, 2017-Sept 30, 2018.
                                              405  MT.................  Oct 1, 2018-Sept 30, 2019.
Articles over 10% Sugar..........          15,540  MT.................  Oct 1, 2017-Sept 30, 2018.
                                            8,028  MT.................  Oct 1, 2018-Sept 30, 2019.
Blended Syrups...................             233  MT.................  Oct 1, 2017-Sept 30, 2018.
                                              362  MT.................  Oct 1, 2018-Sept 30, 2019.
Sweetened Cocoa Powder...........              81  MT.................  Oct 1, 2017-Sept 30, 2018.
                                              111  MT.................  Oct 1, 2018-Sept 30, 2019.
Mixes and Doughs.................             234  MT.................  Oct 1, 2017-Sept 30, 2018.
                                              243  MT.................  Oct 1, 2018-Sept 30, 2019.
Mixed Condiments and Seasonings..             692  MT.................  Oct 1, 2017-Sept 30, 2018.
                                              473  MT.................  Oct 1, 2018-Sept 30, 2019.
Short Staple Cotton \2\..........       3,376,608  Kilograms..........  Sep 20, 2017-Sep 19, 2018.
                                        2,592,880  Kilograms..........  Sep 20, 2018-Sep 19, 2019.
Harsh or Rough Cotton............              13  Kilograms..........  Aug 1, 2017-July 31, 2018.
                                           32,958  Kilograms..........  Aug 1, 2018-July 31, 2019.
Medium Staple Cotton.............               0  Kilograms..........  Aug 1, 2017-July 31, 2018.
                                            8,333  Kilograms..........  Aug 1, 2018-July 31, 2019.
Extra Long Staple Cotton.........       1,219,841  Kilograms..........  Aug 1, 2017-July 31, 2018.
                                          722,750  Kilograms..........  Aug 1, 2018-July 31, 2019.
Cotton Waste \2\.................       1,232,012  Kilograms..........  Sep 20, 2017-Sep 19, 2018.
                                        1,019,017  Kilograms..........  Sep 20, 2018-Sep 19, 2019.
Cotton, Processed, Not Spun \2\..          23,004  Kilograms..........  Sep 11, 2017-Sep 10, 2018.
                                          198,226  Kilograms..........  Sep 11, 2018-Sep 10, 2019.
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\1\ Includes change in U.S. consumption.
\2\ 12-month period from October to September.

[FR Doc. 2018-14312 Filed 7-2-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-10-P