[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 205 (Friday, October 23, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 56781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28603]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 205 / Friday, October 23, 1998 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 56781]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Parts 319 and 354
[Docket No. 98-087-3]
RIN 0579-AB01
Solid Wood Packing Material From China
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim rule; clarification of effective date.
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SUMMARY: This document clarifies the effective date of an interim rule
published in the Federal Register on September 18, 1998. In the interim
rule, we amended the regulations for importing logs, lumber, and other
unmanufactured wood articles by adding treatment and documentation
requirements for solid wood packing material imported from China. That
rule is scheduled to take effect on December 17, 1998. We are
clarifying that the requirements of the rule apply to shipments that
depart China for the United States on or after December 17, 1998, but
do not apply to shipments that depart China prior to that date, even if
such shipments arrive in the United States after December 17, 1998.
DATES: The interim rule published at 63 FR 50100 remains effective
December 17, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ronald Campbell, Import
Specialist, Phytosanitary Issues Management Team, PPQ, APHIS, 4700
River Road Unit 140, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-6799.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) imposes
requirements on the importation of logs, lumber, and other
unmanufactured wood articles to prevent the introduction into the
United States of dangerous plant pests, including forest pests.
On September 18, 1998, we published in the Federal Register (63 FR
50100-50111, Docket No. 98-087-1) an interim rule that amends the
regulations by imposing certain requirements on imported solid wood
packing material (SWPM) from China, in order to prevent the
introduction and establishment of the Asian longhorned beetle and other
dangerous plant pests associated with SWPM from China. Under that rule
(referred to below as the interim rule), if a commercial shipment from
China contains SWPM, then prior to departure from China the SWPM must
be heat treated, fumigated, or treated with preservatives, and must be
accompanied by a certificate signed by an official of a Chinese
government agency that documents the treatment of the SWPM. Commercial
shipments from China that do not contain any SWPM must include an
exporter statement on or attached to the commercial invoice and as an
attachment to the bill of lading stating that the shipment contains no
SWPM.
Since the publication date of the interim rule, APHIS has received
inquiries concerning the status of shipments from China to the United
States that depart China prior to the effective date of the interim
rule, but arrive in the United States after the effective date of the
interim rule.
The interim rule requires certain actions to occur prior to the
departure of shipments from China, i.e., treatment of SWPM, issuance of
certificates to accompany the SWPM, and preparation of exporter
statements to accompany shipments that do not contain any SWPM. It was
not our intention to impose any requirements on shipments that depart
China prior to the effective date of the interim rule. Importers,
exporters, national governments, and others will need until December
17, 1998, to prepare for the significant changes in operations that
will become necessary. Therefore, any shipment that departs China prior
to December 17, 1998, is not subject to the requirements of the interim
rule. However, we wish to be very clear that a shipment will be subject
to the interim rule if it departs one port in China prior to December
17, but subsequently enters and then departs after December 17 another
port in China prior to its arrival in the United States. For example, a
shipment that departs Shanghai on December 16 for Hong Kong, where the
cargo remains on the vessel, is warehoused, or is moved to another
vessel, and then departs for the United States on December 20, would be
subject to the requirements of the interim rule.
In other words, for commercial shipments moved from China to the
United States, it is the date of last departure from China that
determines whether the shipment is subject to the requirements of the
interim rule. If that date is on or after the effective date of the
interim rule (December 17, 1998), then the shipment is subject to the
requirements of the interim rule.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 151-167, 450, 2260,
2803, and 2809; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 49 U.S.C. 1741; 7 CFR 2.22,
2.80, and 371.2(c).
Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of October 1998.
Joan M. Arnoldi,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 98-28603 Filed 10-21-98; 1:29 pm]
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