E8-6640. WTO Agricultural Safeguard Trigger Levels

AGENCY:

Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA.

ACTION:

Notice of product coverage and trigger levels for safeguard measures provided for in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture.

SUMMARY:

This notice lists the updated quantity 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.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

April 2, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lana Bennett, Import and Trade Support Programs Division, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Stop 1021, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-1021, telephone at [phone], or e-mail [e-mail].

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 to be imposed if the volume of imports of an article exceeds the average of the most recent 3 years for which data are available by 5, 10, or 25 percent, depending on the article. 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 the duty to the Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service (7 CFR 2.43(a)(2)(2007)). The Annex to this notice contains the updated quantity trigger levels.

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 and in the Secretary of Agriculture's Notice of Safeguard Action, published in the Federal Register at 60 FR 427, January 4, 1995.

Notice: As provided in section 405 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, consistent with Article 5 of the Agreement on Agriculture, the safeguard quantity trigger levels previously notified are superceded 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, January 4, 1995.

Issued at Washington, DC this 26th day of March, 2008.

Michael W. Yost,

Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.

Annex.—Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger

Product	Trigger level	Period
Beef	412,848 mt	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Mutton	2,455 mt	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Cream	1,683,273 liters	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Evaporated or Condensed Milk	6,393,713 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Nonfat Dry Milk	501,702 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Dried Whole Milk	3,300,683 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Dried Cream	16,575 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Dried Whey/Buttermilk	57,385 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Butter	8,119,255 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Butter Oil and Butter Substitutes	7,852,361 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Dairy Mixtures	59,001,920 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Blue Cheese	5,312,438 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Cheddar Cheese	12,878,813 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
American-Type Cheese	8,616,224 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Edam/Gouda Cheese	8,348,479 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Italian-Type Cheese	22,934,090 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Swiss Cheese with Eye Formation	32,795,660 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Gruyere Process Cheese	7,028,728 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Lowfat Cheese	1,519,025 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
NSPF Cheese	54,012,829 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Peanuts	15,634 mt	April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008.
	12,096 mt	April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009.
Peanut Butter/Paste	3,833 mt	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Raw Cane Sugar	1,411,011 mt	October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008.
	1,462,968 mt	October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
Refined Sugar and Syrups	158,544 mt	October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008.
	175,217 mt	October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
Blended Syrups	29 mt	October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008.
	72 mt	October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
Articles Over 65% Sugar	593 mt	October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008.
	669 mt	October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
Articles Over 10% Sugar	17,655 mt	October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008.
	16,759 mt	October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
Sweetened Cocoa Powder	1,083 mt	October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008.
	1,329 mt	October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
Chocolate Crumb	9,137,158 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Lowfat Chocolate Crumb	321,752 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Infant Formula Containing Oligosaccharides	21,932 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Mixes and Doughs	111 mt	October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008.
	243 mt	October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
Mixed Condiments and Seasonings	126 mt	October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008.
	128 mt	October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
Ice Cream	2,228,293 liters	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Animal Feed Containing Milk	29,683 kilograms	January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008.
Short Staple Cotton	128,095 kilograms	September 20, 2007 to September 19, 2008.
	669,917 kilograms	September 20, 2008 to September 19, 2009.
Harsh or Rough Cotton	0 kilograms	August 1, 2007 to July 31, 2008.
	0 kilograms	August 1, 2008 to July 31, 2009.
Medium Staple Cotton	2,113,814 kilograms	August 1, 2007 to July 31, 2008.
	1,723,796 kilograms	August 1, 2008 to July 31, 2009.
Extra Long Staple Cotton	7,045,601 kilograms	August 1, 2007 to July 31, 2008.
	4,416,936 kilograms	August 1, 2008 to July 31, 2009.
Cotton Waste	5,128 kilograms	September 20, 2007 to September 19, 2008.
	70,768 kilograms	September 20, 2008 to September 19, 2009.
Cotton, Processed, Not Spun	19,473 kilograms	September 11, 2007 to September 10, 2008.
	10,205 kilograms	September 11, 2008 to September 10, 2009.