[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15109-15111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05506]


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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

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also includes the relevant period applicable for the trigger levels on 
each of the listed products.

DATES: This notice is applicable on March 17, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Multilateral Affairs Division, Trade Policy and Geographic 
Affairs, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Stop 1070, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-1070.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Souleymane Diaby, (202) 720-2916, 
[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 tarification 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 1007 (Jan. 4, 1995). The Secretary of 
Agriculture further delegated this duty, which lies with the 
Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service (7 CFR 2.601(a)(42)). 
The Annex to this notice contains the updated quantity trigger levels, 
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 
(2019) 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 28th day of February 2020.
Ken Isley,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.

                                                         Annex-Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger
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                                                                               2020 Quantity-based safeguard trigger
                 Product                 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Trigger level               Unit                                           Period
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Beef....................................         255,113  MT............................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Mutton..................................           4,657  MT............................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Cream...................................       2,195,402  Liters........................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Evaporated or Condensed Milk............       5,643,813  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Nonfat Dry Milk.........................       1,137,938  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Dried Whole Milk........................       8,075,070  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Dried Cream.............................          34,923  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Dried Whey/Buttermilk...................         102,146  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Butter \1\..............................      61,716,866  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Butteroil...............................      13,966,108  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Chocolate Crumb.........................      11,324,477  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Lowfat Chocolate Crumb..................          76,422  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Animal Feed Containing Milk.............         622,860  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Ice Cream...............................       9,583,319  Liters........................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Dairy Mixtures..........................       7,839,727  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Infant Formula Containing                      3,931,855  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
 Oligosaccharides.
Blue Cheese.............................       4,218,639  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Cheddar Cheese..........................       8,505,766  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
American-Type Cheese....................         238,299  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Edam/Gouda Cheese.......................       9,479,493  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Italian-Type Cheese.....................      21,815,576  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Swiss Cheese with Eye Formation.........      28,131,565  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Gruyere Process Cheese..................       4,007,719  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
NSPF Cheese.............................      46,553,755  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Lowfat Cheese...........................          93,681  Kilograms.....................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Peanut Butter/Paste.....................           4,395  MT............................  Jan 1, 2020--Dec 31, 2020.
Peanuts \1\.............................          29,060  MT............................  April 1, 2020--Mar 31, 2021.
Raw Cane Sugar \1\......................         766,524  MT............................  Oct 1, 2020--Sept 30, 2021.
Refined Sugars and Syrups \1\...........         256,005  MT............................  Oct 1, 2020--Sept 30, 2021.
Articles over 65% Sugar.................             482  MT............................  Oct 1, 2020--Sept 30, 2021.
Articles over 10% Sugar.................          11,093  MT............................  Oct 1, 2020--Sept 30, 2021.
Blended Syrups..........................             391  MT............................  Oct 1, 2020--Sept 30, 2021.
Sweetened Cocoa Powder..................             459  MT............................  Oct 1, 2020--Sept 30, 2021.
Mixes and Doughs........................             781  MT............................  Oct 1, 2020--Sept 30, 2021.

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Mixed Condiments and Seasonings.........             350  MT............................  Oct 1, 2020--Sept 30, 2021.
Short Staple Cotton \2\.................          45,688  Kilograms.....................  Sep 20, 2020--Sep 19, 2021.
Harsh or Rough Cotton...................          32,968  Kilograms.....................  Aug 1, 2020--July 31, 2021.
Medium Staple Cotton....................           8,417  Kilograms.....................  Aug 1, 2020--July 31, 2021.
Extra Long Staple Cotton................         692,467  Kilograms.....................  Aug 1, 2020--July 31, 2021.
Cotton Waste \2\........................       1,013,866  Kilograms.....................  Sep 20, 2020--Sep 19, 2021.
Cotton Processed but not Spun \2\.......         124,933  Kilograms.....................  Sep 11, 2020--Sep 10, 2021.
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\1\ Includes change in U.S. consumption.
\2\ 12-month period from October to September.

[FR Doc. 2020-05506 Filed 3-16-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-10-P