E8-19976. Adjustment of Appendices to the Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota Licensing Regulation for the 2008 Tariff-Rate Quota Year

AGENCY:

Office of the Secretary, USDA.

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

This document sets forth the revised appendices to the Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota Licensing Regulation for the 2008 quota year reflecting the cumulative annual transfers from Appendix 1 to Appendix 2 for certain dairy product import licenses permanently surrendered by licensees or revoked by the Licensing Authority.

DATES:

Effective Date: August 29, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jorge Martinez, Dairy Import Licensing Program, Import and Trade Support Programs Division, STOP 1021, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-1021 or telephone at [phone] or e-mail at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Foreign Agricultural Service, under a delegation of authority from the Secretary of Agriculture, administers the Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota Licensing Regulation codified at 7 CFR 6.20-6.37 that provides for the issuance of licenses to import certain dairy articles under tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) as set forth in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. These dairy articles may only be entered into the United States at the low-tier tariff by or for the account of a person or firm to whom such licenses have been issued and only in accordance with the terms and conditions of the regulation.

Licenses are issued on a calendar year basis, and each license authorizes the license holder to import a specified quantity and type of dairy article from a specified country of origin. The Import and Trade Support Programs Division, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, issues these licenses and, in conjunction with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, monitors their use.

The regulation at 7 CFR 6.34(a) states: “Whenever a historical license (Appendix 1) is not issued to an applicant pursuant to the provisions of § 6.23, is permanently surrendered or is revoked by the Licensing Authority, the amount of such license will be transferred to Appendix 2.” Section 6.34(b) provides that the cumulative annual transfers will be published in the Federal Register. Accordingly, this document sets forth the revised Appendices for the 2008 tariff-rate quota year.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 6

• Agricultural commodities
• Cheese
• Dairy products
• Imports
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements

Issued at Washington, DC, the 20th day of June 2008.

Ronald Lord,

Licensing Authority.

Accordingly, 7 CFR Part 6 is amended as follows:

PART 6—IMPORT QUOTAS AND FEES

1. The authority citation for Part 6, Subpart—Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota Licensing continues to read as follows:

Authority: Additional U.S. Notes 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 16-23 and 25 to Chapter 4 and General Note 15 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (19 U.S.C. 1202), Pub. L. 97-258, 96 Stat. 1051, as amended (31 U.S.C. 9701), and secs. 103 and 404, Pub. L. 103-465, 108 Stat. 4819 (19 U.S.C. 3513 and 3601).

2. Appendices 1, 2 and 3 to Subpart—Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota Licensing are revised to read as follows:

Appendices 1, 2 and 3 to Subpart—Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota Licensing

Articles Subject to: Appendix 1, Historical Licenses; Appendix 2, Nonhistorical Licenses; and Appendix 3, Designated Importer Licenses for Quota Year 2008

[Quantities in kilograms]

Article by Additional U.S. Note Number and Country of Origin	Appendix 1	Appendix 2	Appendix 3
			Tokyo round	Uruguay round
NON-CHEESE ARTICLES
BUTTER (NOTE 6)	5,361,732	1,615,268
EU-25	75,918	20,243
New Zealand	116,998	33,595
Other Countries	54,504	19,431
Any Country	5,114,312	1,541,999
DRIED SKIM MILK (NOTE 7)		5,261,000
Australia		600,076
Canada		219,565
Any Country		4,441,359
DRIED WHOLE MILK (NOTE 8)	3,175	3,318,125
New Zealand	3,175
Any Country		3,318,125
DRIED BUTTERMILK/WHEY (NOTE 12)	12,760	212,221
Canada		161,161
New Zealand	12,760	51,060
BUTTER SUBSTITUTES CONTAINING OVER PERCENT OF BUTTERFAT AND/OR BUTTER OIL (NOTE 14)		6,080,500
Any Country		6,080,500
TOTAL: NON-CHEESE ARTICLES	5,377,667	16,487,114
CHEESE ARTICLES
CHEESE AND SUBSTITUTES FOR CHEESE (EXCEPT: SOFT RIPENED COW'S MILK CHEESE; CHEESE NOT CONTAINING COW'S MILK; CHEESE (EXCEPT COTTAGE CHEESE) CONTAINING 0.5 PERCENT OR LESS BY WEIGHT OF BUTTERFAT; AND, ARTICLES WITHIN THE SCOPE OF OTHER IMPORT QUOTAS PROVIDED FOR IN THIS SUBCHAPTER) (NOTE 16)	23,345,203	8,124,528	9,661,128	7,496,000
Argentina	7,690		92,310
Australia	535,628	5,542	758,830	1,750,000
Canada	1,013,777	127,223
Costa Rica				1,550,000
EU-25	16,147,453	7,120,203	1,132,568	3,446,000
Of which Portugal is:	65,838	63,471	223,691
Israel	79,696		593,304
Iceland	294,000		29,000
New Zealand	4,443,558	371,914	6,506,528
Norway	124,982	25,018
Switzerland	597,513	73,899	548,588	500,000
Uruguay				250,000
Other Countries	100,906	100,729
Any Country		300,000
BLUE-MOLD CHEESE (EXCEPT STILTON PRODUCED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM) AND CHEESE AND SUBSTITUTES FOR CHEESE CONTAINING, OR PROCESSED FROM, BLUE-MOLD CHEESE (NOTE 17)	2,285,947	195,054		430,000
Argentina	2,000
EU-25	2,283,946	195,054		350,000
Chile				80,000
Other Countries	1
CHEDDAR CHEESE, AND CHEESE AND SUBSTITUTES FOR CHEESE CONTAINING, OR PROCESSED FROM, CHEDDAR CHEESE (NOTE 18)	3,619,547	664,309	519,033	7,620,000
Australia	925,557	58,942	215,501	1,250,000
Chile				220,000
EU-25	52,404	210,596		1,050,000
New Zealand	2,539,040	257,428	303,532	5,100,000
Other Countries	102,546	37,343
Any Country		100,000
AMERICAN-TYPE CHEESE, INCLUDING COLBY, WASHED CURD AND GRANULAR CHEESE (BUT NOT INCLUDING CHEDDAR) AND CHEESE AND SUBSTITUTES FOR CHEESE CONTAINING OR PROCESSED FROM SUCH AMERICAN-TYPE CHEESE (NOTE 19)	2,744,970	420,583	357,003
Australia	789,626	91,372	119,002
EU-25	145,148	208,852
New Zealand	1,657,689	104,310	238,001
Other Countries	152,507	16,049
EDAM AND GOUDA CHEESE, AND CHEESE AND SUBSTITUTES FOR CHEESE CONTAINING, OR PROCESSED FROM, EDAM AND GOUDA CHEESE (NOTE 20)	5,230,565	375,837		1,210,000
Argentina	110,495	14,505		110,000
EU-25	5,000,990	288,010		1,100,000
Norway	114,318	52,682
Other Countries	4,762	20,640
ITALIAN-TYPE CHEESES, MADE FROM COW'S MILK, (ROMANO MADE FROM COW'S MILK, REGGIANO, PARMESAN, PROVOLONE, PROVOLETTI, SBRINZ, AND GOYA—NOT IN ORIGINAL LOAVES) AND CHEESE AND SUBSTITUTES FOR CHEESE CONTAINING, OR PROCESSED FROM, SUCH ITALIAN-TYPE CHEESES, WHETHER OR NOT IN ORIGINAL LOAVES (NOTE 21)	6,467,087	1,053,460	795,517	5,165,000
Argentina	3,931,157	194,326	367,517	1,890,000
EU-25	2,535,930	846,070		2,025,000
Romania				500,000
Uruguay			428,000	750,000
Other Countries		13,064
SWISS OR EMMENTHALER CHEESE OTHER THAN WITH EYE FORMATION, GRUYERE-PROCESS CHEESE AND CHEESE AND SUBSTITUTES FOR CHEESE CONTAINING, OR PROCESSED FROM, SUCH CHEESES (NOTE 22)	5,371,777	1,279,537	823,519	380,000
EU-25	4,102,587	1,049,407	393,006	380,000
Switzerland	1,235,692	183,795	430,513
Other Countries	33,498	46,335
CHEESE AND SUBSTITUTES FOR CHEESE, CONTAINING 0.5 PERCENT OR LESS BY WEIGHT OF BUTTERFAT (EXCEPT ARTICLES WITHIN THE SCOPE OF OTHER TARIFF-RATE QUOTAS PROVIDED FOR IN THIS SUBCHAPTER), AND MARGARINE CHEESE (NOTE 23)	1,879,481	2,545,437	1,050,000
EU-25	1,879,480	2,545,437
Israel			50,000
New Zealand			1,000,000
Other Countries	1
SWISS OR EMMENTHALER CHEESE WITH EYE FORMATION (NOTE 25)	16,078,683	6,218,648	9,557,945	2,620,000
Argentina		9,115	70,885
Australia	209,698		290,302
Canada			70,000
EU-25	11,198,973	5,277,855	4,003,172	2,420,000
Iceland	149,999		150,001
Israel	27,000
Norway	3,187,264	468,046	3,227,690
Switzerland	1,246,164	437,941	1,745,895	200,000
Other Countries	59,585	25,691
TOTAL: CHEESE ARTICLES	67,023,260	20,877,393	22,764,145	24,921,000