Uruguay Round Agreements Act; agricultural safeguard trigger levels,

[Federal Register: June 12, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 113)]

[Notices]

[Page 35193-35194]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr12jn03-19]

Notices Federal Register

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[[Page 35193]]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Foreign Agricultural Service

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. It also includes the relevant period applicable for trigger levels on each of those products.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 12, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles R. Bertsch, Multilateral Trade Negotiations Division, Foreign Agricultural Service, room 5530--South Building, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250-1022, telephone at (202) 720-6278, or e-mail charles.bertsch@usda.gov. 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, QUANTITY BASED SAFEGUARD TRIGGER dated December 23, 1994. The Secretary of Agriculture further delegated the duty to the Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service (7 CFR 2.43(a)(2)). 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 supeceded by the levels indicated in the Annex to this notice.

Issued at Washington, DC, this 4 day of June. K.J. Roberts, Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service, Annex.

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.

Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger

Product

Trigger level

Period

Beef........................ 1,186,106 mt........ January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Mutton...................... 17,117 mt........... January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Cream....................... 5,534,383 liters.... January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Evaporated or Condensed Milk 7,455,620 kilograms. January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Nonfat Dry Milk............. 4,466,516 kilograms. January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Dried Whole Milk............ 3,564,465 kilograms. January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Dried Cream................. 7,653 kilograms..... January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Dried Whey/Buttermilk....... 69,343 kilograms.... January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Butter...................... 13,733,235 kilograms January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Butter Oil and Butter

10,526,925 kilograms January 1, 2003 to Substitutes.

December 31, 2003. Dairy Mixtures.............. 4,895,300 kilograms. January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Blue Cheese................. 4,218,407 kilograms. January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Cheddar Cheese.............. 15,619,014 kilograms January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. American-Type Cheese........ 21,653,472 kilograms January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Edam/Gouda Cheese........... 8,310,586 kilograms. January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Italian-Type Cheese......... 18,789,008 kilograms January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Swiss Cheese with Eye

37,381,545 kilograms January 1, 2003 to Formation.

December 31, 2003. Gruyere Process Cheese...... 8,092,469 kilograms. January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Lowfat Cheese............... 3,404,944 kilograms. January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. NSPF Cheese................. 58,201,906 kilograms January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Peanuts..................... 64,394 mt........... April 1, 2003 to March 31, 2003. Peanut Butter/Paste......... 19,583 mt........... January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003.

[[Page 35194]]

Raw Cane Sugar.............. 1,358,418 mt........ October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2003. 1,292,926 mt........ October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004. Refined Sugar and Syrups.... 46,395 mt........... October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2003. 66,348 mt........... October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004. Blended Syrups.............. 2 mt................ October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2003. 0 mt................ October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004. Articles Over 65% Sugar..... 10 mt............... October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2003. Articles Over 10% Sugar..... 80,886 mt........... October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2003. 80,886 mt........... October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004. 0 mt................ October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004. Sweetened Cocoa Powder...... 759 mt.............. October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2003. 843 mt.............. October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004. Chocolate Crumb............. 22,524,838 kilograms January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Lowfat Chocolate Crumb...... 460,521 kilograms... January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Infant Formula Containing 125,000 kilograms... January 1, 2003 to Oligosaccharides.

December 31, 2003. Mixes and Doughs............ 5,364 mt............ October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2003. 5,358 mt............ October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004. Mixed Condiments and

523 mt.............. October 1, 2002 to Seasonings.

September 30, 2003. 554 mt.............. October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004. Ice Cream................... 3,832, 905 liters... January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Animal Feed Containing Milk. 5,772 kilograms..... January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Short Staple Cotton......... 5,273,740 kilograms. September 20, 2002 to September 19, 2003. 328,762 kilograms... September 20, 2003 to September 19, 2004. Harsh or Rough Cotton....... 0 mt................ August 1, 2002 to July 31, 2003. 0 mt................ August 1, 2003 to July 31, 2004. Medium Staple Cotton........ 740,504 kilograms... August 1, 2002 to July 31, 2003. 175,688 kilograms... August 1, 2003 to July 31, 2004. Extra Long Staple Cotton.... 6,562,505 kilograms. August 1, 2002 to July 31, 2003. 6,218,181 kilograms. August 1, 2003 to July 31, 2004. Cotton Waste................ 0 kilograms......... September 20, 2002 to September 19, 2003. 0 kilograms......... September 20, 2003 to September 19, 2004. Cotton, Processed, Not Spun. 1,790 kilograms..... September 11, 2002 to September 10, 2003. 1,042 kilograms..... September 11, 2003 to September 10, 2004.

[FR Doc. 03-14550 Filed 6-11-03; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-10-M