2011-25165. Assessment of Fees for Dairy Import Licenses for the 2012 Tariff-Rate Import Quota Year

AGENCY:

Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces a fee of $170 to be charged for the 2012 tariff-rate quota (TRQ) year for each license issued to a person or firm by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) authorizing the importation of certain dairy articles, which are subject to tariff-rate quotas set forth in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) of the United States.

DATES:

Effective September 30, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Abdelsalam El-Farra, Dairy Import Licensing Program, Import Policies and Export Reporting Division, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., STOP 1021, Washington, DC 20 250-1021; or by telephone at [phone]; or by e-mail at: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota Licensing Regulation promulgated by USDA and codified at 7 CFR 6.20-6.37 provides for the issuance of licenses to import certain dairy articles that are subject to TRQs set forth in the HTS. Those dairy articles may only be entered into the United States at the in-quota TRQ tariff-rates 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 use of such licenses is monitored by the Dairy Import Licensing Program, Import Programs and Export Reporting Division, Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The regulation at 7 CFR 6.33(a) provides that a fee will be charged for each license issued to a person or firm by the Licensing Authority in order to defray USDA's costs of administering the licensing system under this regulation.

The regulation at 7 CFR 6.33(a) also provides that the Licensing Authority will announce the annual fee for each license and that such fee will be set out in a notice to be published in the Federal Register. Accordingly, this notice sets out the fee for the licenses to be issued for the 2012 calendar year.

Notice: The total cost to USDA of administering the licensing system for 2012 has been estimated to be $440,280 and the estimated number of licenses expected to be issued is 2,594. Of the total cost, $315,000 represents staff and supervisory costs directly related to administering the licensing system, and $125,280 represents other miscellaneous costs, including travel, postage, publications, forms, and Automated Data Processing system support.

Accordingly, notice is hereby given that the fee for each license issued to a person or firm for the 2012 calendar year, in accordance with 7 CFR 6.33, will be $170 per license.

Dated: August 30, 2011.

Ronald Lord,

Licensing Authority.