[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 37 (Friday, February 23, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6955-6956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4147]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 1996 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 6955]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Part 94
[Docket No. 95-093-1]
Pork and Pork Products From Mexico Transiting the United States
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: We are proposing to allow fresh, chilled, and frozen pork and
pork products from the Mexican State of Yucatan to transit the United
States, under certain conditions, for export to another country.
Currently, we allow such pork and pork products from the Mexican States
of Sonora and Chihuahua to transit the United States for export.
Otherwise, fresh, chilled, or frozen pork and pork products are
prohibited movement into the United States from Mexico because of hog
cholera in Mexico. Yucatan, like Sonora and Chihuahua, appears to be a
low risk area for hog cholera, and we believe that fresh, chilled, and
frozen pork and pork products from Yucatan could transit the United
States with minimal risk of introducing hog cholera. This action would
facilitate trade.
DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or
before April 23, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to
Docket No. 95-093-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS,
suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please
state that your comments refer to Docket No. 95-093-1. Comments
received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th
Street and Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to
inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to
facilitate entry into the comment reading room.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Michael David, Senior Staff
Veterinarian, Import/Export Animals, National Center for Import and
Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 39, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231,
(301) 734-5097.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in 9 CFR part 94 (referred to below as the
regulations) prohibit or restrict the importation of certain animals
and animal products into the United States to prevent the introduction
of certain animal diseases. Section 94.9 of the regulations prohibits
the importation of pork and pork products into the United States from
countries where hog cholera exists, unless the pork or pork products
have been treated in one of several ways, all of which involve heating
or curing and drying.
Because hog cholera exists in Mexico, pork and pork products from
Mexico must meet the requirements of Sec. 94.9 to be imported into the
United States. However, under Sec. 94.15, pork and pork products that
are from certain Mexican States and that are not eligible for entry
into the United States in accordance with the regulations may transit
the United States for immediate export if certain conditions are met.
This provision was added to the regulations in 1992, following a United
States Department of Agriculture investigation of the hog cholera
situation in Sonora, Mexico, and a determination that pork and pork
products from Sonora could transit the United States, under certain
conditions, with minimal risk of introducing hog cholera. The Mexican
State of Chihuahua was included in this provision in a final rule
published in the Federal Register on November 15, 1995 (60 FR 57313-
57315, Docket No. 95-037-2).
Mexico's Director of Animal Health has requested that we allow pork
and pork products from the Mexican State of Yucatan to transit the
United States for export under the same conditions that currently apply
to pork and pork products from Sonora and Chihuahua. In response,
officials of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) met
recently in Yucatan with Mexican representatives knowledgeable in
disease prevention, epidemiology, and diagnostic methods. The team
reviewed the hog cholera situation in Yucatan (discussed below) and
recommended granting Mexico's request.
The last outbreak of hog cholera in the Mexican State of Yucatan
occurred in 1982. Vaccination for hog cholera was discontinued in 1993.
Mexico officially recognized Yucatan as free of hog cholera in April
1995.
The team found two factors contributing to Yucatan's apparent
success in remaining free of hog cholera: Yucatan's location and
controls by the Division of Animal Health on the movement into Yucatan
of pork, pork products, and live swine.
Yucatan is located in a fairly isolated position at the tip of a
peninsula, surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico to the north, the Mexican
State of Campeche to the southwest, and the Mexican State of Quintana
Roo to the southeast. Campeche is in the control phase of its hog
cholera program, in which swine are still being vaccinated for the
disease. Quintana Roo is in the eradication phase of its hog cholera
program, in which no cases of hog cholera have been detected for at
least 12 months and a prohibition on vaccination for hog cholera has
been instituted.
As required by the Mexican Government, Yucatan and other States
recognized by Mexico as free of hog cholera may only import live swine
and pork from other hog cholera-free States and countries. The Mexican
Government requires shipments from hog cholera-free countries to be
accompanied by a certificate of origin issued by that country's
veterinary authorities and by a certificate of import issued by the
Mexican veterinary authorities. Yucatan and other States recognized by
Mexico as being free of hog cholera also require and issue their own
permits and health certificates, further ensuring the origin of
imported products. In addition, live swine and pork imported into these
hog cholera-free States must be shipped in sealed trucks, and all
shipments are inspected at inspection stations located either on State
lines or at international ports of entry.
Under these circumstances, we believe that there would be little,
if any, risk of introducing hog cholera into the United States by
allowing pork and pork products from Yucatan to transit the
[[Page 6956]]
United States for export under the same conditions that currently apply
to pork and pork products from Sonora and Chihuahua.
These conditions will be as follows:
1. Any person wishing to transport pork or pork products from
Yucatan through the United States for export must first obtain a permit
for importation from APHIS. The application for the permit tells APHIS
who will be involved in the transportation, how much and what type of
pork and pork products will be transported, when they will be
transported, and the method and route of shipment.
2. The pork or pork products must be sealed in Yucatan in a
leakproof container, with a serially numbered seal approved by APHIS.
The container must remain sealed at all times while transiting the
United States.
3. The person moving the pork or pork products through the United
States must inform the APHIS officer at the United States port of
arrival, in writing, of the following information before the pork or
pork products arrive in the United States: The times and dates that the
pork or pork products are expected at the port of arrival in the United
States, the time schedule and route of the shipments through the United
States, and the permit number and serial numbers of the seals on the
containers.
4. The pork or pork products must transit the United States under
Customs bond.
5. The pork or pork products must be exported from the United
States within the time period specified on the permit.
Any pork or pork products exceeding the time limit specified on the
permit or transiting in violation of any of the requirements of the
permit or the regulations may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of at
the discretion of the Administrator, APHIS, pursuant to section 2 of
the Act of February 2, 1903, as amended (21 U.S.C. 111).
We believe that applying these same safeguards to shipments of pork
and pork products from Yucatan would prevent tampering with the
shipments, ensure that the shipments actually leave the United States,
and otherwise ensure that shipments would not present a risk of
introducing hog cholera. Therefore, we are proposing to amend
Sec. 94.15 to allow pork and pork products from the Mexican State of
Yucatan to transit the United States for export under the same
conditions that currently apply to pork and pork products from Sonora
and Chihuahua.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866.
The rule has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of
Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the
Office of Management and Budget.
This proposed rule would allow fresh, chilled, and frozen pork and
pork products from the Mexican State of Yucatan to transit the United
States, under certain conditions, for export to another country. It has
been determined that Yucatan is a low risk area for hog cholera and has
the veterinary infrastructure necessary to monitor for the presence of
the disease.
There appears to be little risk of hog cholera exposure from
shipments of pork and pork products from Yucatan transiting the United
States. Assuming that proper risk management techniques continue to be
applied in Mexico, and that accident and exposure risk would be
minimized by proper handling during transport, the risk of exposure to
hog cholera from pork in transit from Mexico through the United States
would be minimal.
Shipments of pork and pork products from Yucatan transiting the
United States would most likely be ocean shipments to Miami with final
destinations in the Caribbean and South America. Because no overland
transit of pork and pork products through the United States would be
expected as a result of this rulemaking, no increase in United States
trucking or other United States-based economic activity would be
expected.
Both the United States and Mexico are net pork importers. United
States pork imports represent approximately 2 to 3 percent of
production, and Mexican imports represent 7 to 8 percent of production.
With favorable income growth expected in Mexico due to trade
liberalization, meat imports, including pork products, are expected to
grow and limit Mexican pork exports. However, facilitating export
opportunities for the Mexican pork industry may provide incentives for
continued efforts to eradicate hog cholera from infected Mexican
States.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12778
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778,
Civil Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is adopted: (1) All State
and local laws and regulations that are inconsistent with this rule
will be preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will be given to this
rule; and (3) administrative proceedings will not be required before
parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This proposed rule contains no new information collection or
recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 94
Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock, Meat and meat products, Milk,
Poultry and poultry products, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Accordingly, 9 CFR part 94 would be amended as follows:
PART 94--RINDERPEST, FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE, FOWL PEST (FOWL
PLAGUE), VELOGENIC VISCEROTROPIC NEWCASTLE DISEASE, AFRICAN SWINE
FEVER, HOG CHOLERA, AND BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY;
PROHIBITED AND RESTRICTED IMPORTATIONS
1. The authority citation for part 94 would continue to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 147a, 150ee, 161, 162, and 450; 19 U.S.C.
1306; 21 U.S.C. 111, 114a, 134a, 134b, 134c, 134f, 136, and 136a; 31
U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 4331 and 4332; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and
371.2(d).
Sec. 94.15 [Amended]
2. In Sec. 94.15, paragraph (b), the introductory text and
paragraph (b)(2) would be amended by removing the words ``Chihuahua or
Sonora'' and adding the words ``Chihuahua, Sonora, or Yucatan'' in
their place.
Done in Washington, DC, this 20th day of February 1996.
Terry L. Medley,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 96-4147 Filed 2-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
