[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 21, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20652-20654]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08152]
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Notices
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 75 / Wednesday, April 21, 2021 /
Notices
[[Page 20652]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[Document Number AMS-TM-21-0034]
Supply Chains for the Production of Agricultural Commodities and
Food Products
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice; request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: On February 24, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive
Order on ``America's Supply Chains,'' which directs several Federal
agency actions to secure and strengthen America's supply chains. One of
these directions is for the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) to
submit, within one year, a report to the President that assesses the
supply chains for the production of agricultural commodities and food
products. This notice requests comments and information from the public
to assist the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in preparing the
report required by the Executive Order. Through this notice, USDA is
also requesting public comment to inform our thinking regarding how
stimulus relief programs and spending related to food supply chain
resilience as authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
(CAA), and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) can help to
increase durability and resilience within the U.S. food supply.
DATES: Comments must be received by May 21, 2021.
ADDRESSES: All written comments in response to this notice 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-TM-21-0034, the date of
submission, and the page number of this issue of the Federal Register.
Comments may also be sent to Dr. Melissa R. Bailey, Agricultural
Marketing Service, USDA, Room 2055-S, STOP 0201, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-0201. Comments will be made available
for public inspection at the above address during regular business
hours or via the internet at www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Melissa R. Bailey, Agricultural
Marketing Service, at (202) 205-9356; or by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On February 24, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14017,
``America's Supply Chains'' (86 FR 11849) (E.O. 14017). E.O. 14017
focuses on the need for resilient, diverse, and secure supply chains to
ensure U.S. economic prosperity and national security. Such supply
chains are needed to address conditions that can reduce critical
manufacturing capacity and the availability and integrity of critical
goods, products, and services. In relevant part, E.O. 14017 directs
that, within one year, the Secretary shall submit a report to the
President, through the Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs (APNSA) and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy
(APEP), on the supply chains for the production of agricultural
commodities and food products. This notice requests comments and
information from the public to assist USDA in preparing the report
required by E.O. 14017. Further, USDA will use public comments received
through this notice to inform our thinking regarding how stimulus
relief programs and spending related to food supply chain resilience as
authorized by the CAA and the ARPA can help to increase durability and
resilience within the U.S. food supply. We are particularly interested
in comments addressing local and regional food systems, creating new
market opportunities (including for value-added agriculture and value-
added products), facilitating fair and competitive markets (including
traceability and supply chain transparency), advancing efforts to
transform the food system, meeting the needs of the agricultural
workforce, supporting and promoting consumers' nutrition security,
particularly for low-income populations, and supporting the needs of
socially disadvantaged and small to mid-sized producers and processors.
In developing this report, the Secretary will consult with the
heads of appropriate agencies, and will be advised by all relevant
components of USDA, including but not limited to the Office of the
Chief Economist, Office of Homeland Security, Agricultural Marketing
Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Food Safety and
Inspection Service, Agricultural Research Service, Economic Research
Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Rural Development,
Farm Service Agency, Risk Management Agency, Natural Resources
Conservation Service, Food and Nutrition Service, and Foreign
Agricultural Service.
II. Written Comments
USDA is particularly interested in comments and information
directed to the policy objectives listed in E.O. 14017 as they affect
agricultural and food products supply chains, including but not limited
to the following elements:
(i) The critical goods and materials underlying agricultural and
food product supply chains. Under section 6(b) of E.O. 14017,
``critical goods and materials'' means goods and raw materials
currently defined under statute or regulation as ``critical''
materials, technologies, or infrastructure;
(ii) other essential goods and materials underlying agricultural
and food product supply chains, including digital products, and
infrastructure. Under section 6(d) of E.O. 14017, ``other essential
goods and materials'' means those that are essential to national and
economic security, emergency preparedness, or to advance the policy set
forth in section 1 of E.O. 14017, but not included within the
definition of ``critical goods and materials.'' USDA also will consider
``other essential goods and materials'' relative to nutrition security
given its related importance to national and economic security. USDA is
particularly interested in comments on the following goods and
materials pertaining to agricultural and food supply chain resilience
including, but not limited to: Seed, fertilizer, pesticides, livestock/
animal health, feed and feed additives, plant health, soil
[[Page 20653]]
health, water (availability, quality, access, infrastructure), energy
(availability, access, infrastructure), viability of pollinators, the
agricultural workforce (sufficiency, reliability, documentation, health
and well-being), access to capital/financing, access to farm production
tools (including for farmers interested in value-added agriculture such
as USDA organic certification), access to critical food distribution
assets (shipping containers, cold chain equipment, and materials such
as packaging) and technology, access to food processing and markets
(including traceability and transparency), and access to training,
education, and technical assistance;
(iii) the manufacturing or other capabilities necessary to produce
the materials identified in subsections (i) and (ii) of this section,
including emerging capabilities. USDA is particularly interested in
comments on the processing and distribution, capacity, and access
issues associated with food production across all agricultural
commodities, the varying scales at which processing is available
(including availability for small to mid-size producers), the
geographic distribution of such processing (e.g., availability to local
and regional producers and food hubs), access to transportation hubs
and export facilities, and cold chain infrastructure and capacity,
access to packaging (including the availability of sustainable
packaging), as well as the ownership and financial viability of such
facilities;
(iv) the defense, intelligence, cyber, homeland security, health,
climate, environmental, natural, market, economic, geopolitical, human-
rights or forced-labor risks or other contingencies that may disrupt,
strain, compromise, or eliminate the supply chain--including risks
posed by supply chains' reliance on digital products that may be
vulnerable to failures or exploitation, and risks resulting from the
elimination of, or failure to develop domestically, the capabilities
identified in subsection (iii) of this section--and that are
sufficiently likely to arise so as to require reasonable preparation
for their occurrence;
(v) the resilience and capacity of American manufacturing supply
chains, including food processing (e.g., meat, poultry, and seafood
processing) and distribution, and the industrial and agricultural
base--whether civilian or defense--of the United States to support
national, economic, and nutrition security, emergency preparedness, and
the policy identified in section 1 of E.O. 14017, in the event any of
the contingencies identified in subsection (iv) of this section occurs,
including an assessment of:
(A) The manufacturing or other needed capacities of the United
States, including the ability to modernize to meet future needs,
including food processing (such as meat, poultry, and seafood
processing) and distribution;
(B) gaps in domestic manufacturing capabilities, including
nonexistent, extinct, threatened, or single-point-of-failure
capabilities;
(C) supply chains with a single point of failure, single or dual
suppliers, or limited resilience, especially for subcontractors, as
defined by section 44.101 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations
(Federal Acquisition Regulation). USDA is particularly interested in
comments related to the role of market concentration and consolidation
in agricultural sectors and how it affects food system resilience,
including potential system failures in the face of supply chain
disruptions;
(D) the location and geographic distribution of key manufacturing
and production assets, with any significant risks identified in
subsection (iv) of this section posed by the assets' physical location
or the distribution of these facilities. USDA is interested in comments
on the risks associated with the current geographic distribution and
diversification of where U.S. crops and livestock are grown/raised,
processed, and marketed;
(E) exclusive or dominant supply of critical goods and materials
and other essential goods and materials, as identified in subsections
(i) and (ii) of this section, by or through nations that are, or are
likely to become, unfriendly or unstable;
(F) the availability of substitutes or alternative sources for
critical goods and materials and other essential goods and materials,
as identified in subsections (i) and (ii) of this section. For example,
USDA encourages commenters to consider agricultural products that could
be domestically grown but are not practically available today for
various reasons, and to describe whether and how such products (or
their alternatives) could be made available through supply chain
resilience efforts;
(G) current domestic education and manufacturing workforce skills
for the relevant sector and identified gaps, opportunities, and
potential best practices in meeting the future workforce needs for the
relevant sector;
(H) the need for research and development capacity to sustain
leadership in the development of critical goods and materials and other
essential goods and materials, as identified in subsections (i) and
(ii) of this section. USDA is particularly interested in comments
related to education, technical assistance, capacity building,
organizational development, and support necessary for success in U.S.
agriculture and food production, processing, distribution, and
marketing, including how to best target support for socially
disadvantaged producers and processors, tribal communities, small
businesses, beginning farmers and ranchers, and other key stakeholder
groups;
(I) the role of transportation systems in supporting existing
supply chains and risks associated with those transportation systems;
and
(J) the risks posed by climate change to the availability,
production, or transportation of critical goods and materials and other
essential goods and materials, as identified in subsections (i) and
(ii) of this section. Given the risks posed, USDA is particularly
interested in the potential to retool, reengineer, or develop new
capacity that would address the risks, improve efficiency, and have a
climate benefit due to lower energy use, less food waste, or hasten
capture of by-products and co-products (among other benefits).
(vi) allied and partner actions, including whether United States
allies and partners have also identified and prioritized the critical
goods and materials and other essential goods and materials identified
in subsections (i) and (ii) of this section, and possible avenues for
international engagement;
(vii) the primary causes of risks for any aspect of the
agricultural and food production supply chains assessed as vulnerable
pursuant to subsection (v) of this section;
(viii) a prioritization of the critical goods and materials and
other essential goods and materials, including digital products,
identified in subsections (i) and (ii) of this section for the purpose
of identifying options and policy recommendations. The prioritization
shall be based on statutory or regulatory requirements; importance to
national, economic, and nutrition security, emergency preparedness, and
the policy set forth in section 1 of E.O. 14017;
(ix) specific policy recommendations important to transforming the
food system and increasing reliance in the supply chain for the sector.
Such recommendations may include sustainably reshoring supply chains
and developing domestic supplies, cooperating with allies and partners
to identify alternative supply chains, building redundancy into
domestic supply chains, ensuring and enlarging stockpiles, developing
workforce capabilities, enhancing access to
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financing, expanding research and development to broaden supply chains,
addressing risks due to vulnerabilities in digital products relied on
by supply chains, addressing risks posed by climate change,
strengthening supply chains' ability to promote nutrition security, and
any other recommendations. For example, as a part of this assessment,
USDA is interested in recommendations that could improve local and
regional food production, processing, packaging, and distribution,
particularly for small to mid-sized producers and processors; support
national nutrition security and health; address agricultural workforce
needs; strengthen market transparency (such as traceability); and
address disproportionate impacts on socially disadvantaged communities.
As USDA implements stimulus relief programs and spending authorized by
the CAA and ARPA, we seek public comments on targeting funds toward
food supply chain resiliency. USDA's initial thinking includes, but is
not limited to, funding, through a combination of grants or loans,
needs such as: Supply chain retooling to address multiple needs at once
(i.e., achieving both climate benefits and addressing supply gaps or
vulnerabilities concurrently), expansion of local and regional food
capacity and distribution (e.g., hubs, cooperative development, cold
chain improvements, infrastructure), development of local and regional
meat and poultry processing and seafood processing and distribution,
and food supply chain capacity building for socially disadvantaged
communities. USDA notes that we will also consider public comments
received during USDA's March 19, 2021, listening session and associated
written comments on Coronavirus Response Grants related to CAA funding
as part of the information considered for this Executive Order report;
(x) any executive, legislative, regulatory, and policy changes and
any other actions to strengthen the capabilities identified in
subsection (iii) of this section, and to prevent, avoid, or prepare for
any of the contingencies identified in subsection (iv) of this section;
and
(xi) proposals for improving the Government-wide effort to
strengthen supply chains, including proposals for coordinating actions
with ongoing efforts that could be considered duplicative of the work
of E.O. 14017 or with existing Government mechanisms that could be used
to implement E.O. 14017 in a more effective manner.
USDA encourages commenters, when addressing the elements above, to
structure their comments using the same text as identifiers for the
areas of inquiry to which their comments respond. This would assist
USDA in more easily reviewing and summarizing the comments received in
response to these specific comment areas. For example, a commenter
submitting comments responsive to ``(i) critical and essential goods
and materials underlying agricultural and food product supply chains''
would use that same text as a heading in the public comment followed by
the commenter's specific comments in this area.
III. Requirements for Written Comments
The http://www.regulations.gov website allows users to provide
comments by filling in a ``Type Comment'' field or by attaching a
document using an ``Upload File'' field. USDA prefers that comments be
provided in an attached document. USDA prefers submissions in Microsoft
Word (.doc files) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf files). If the submission is
in an application format other than Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat,
please indicate the name of the application in the ``Type Comment''
field. Please do not attach separate cover letters to electronic
submissions; rather, include any information that might appear in a
cover letter within the comments. Similarly, to the extent possible,
please include any exhibits, annexes, or other attachments in the same
file, so that the submission consists of one file instead of multiple
files. Comments (both public comments and non-confidential versions of
comments containing business confidential information) will be placed
in the docket and open to public inspection. Comments may be viewed on
http://www.regulations.gov by entering docket number AMS-TM-21-0034 in
the search field on the home page. All filers should name their files
using the name of the person or entity submitting the comments.
Anonymous comments are also accepted. Communications from agencies of
the United States Government will not be made available for public
inspection. Anyone submitting business confidential information should
clearly identify the business confidential portion at the time of
submission, file a statement justifying nondisclosure and referring to
the specific legal authority claimed, and provide a non-confidential
version of the submission. The nonconfidential version of the
submission will be placed in the public file on http://www.regulations.gov. For comments submitted electronically containing
business confidential information, the file name of the business
confidential version should begin with the characters ``BC.'' Any page
containing business confidential information must be clearly marked
``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page. The non-confidential
version must be clearly marked ``PUBLIC.'' The file name of the
nonconfidential version should begin with the character ``P.'' The
``BC'' and ``P'' should be followed by the name of the person or entity
submitting the comments or rebuttal comments. If a public hearing is
held in support of this supply chain assessment, a separate Federal
Register notice will be published providing the date and information
about the hearing.
Bruce Summers,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-08152 Filed 4-20-21; 8:45 am]
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