[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 147 (Tuesday, August 1, 1995)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 39101-39104] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 95-18778] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 7 CFR Parts 301 and 319 [Docket No. 94-069-2] Unshu Oranges From the Republic of Korea AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Final rule. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: We are amending the regulations governing the importation and interstate movement of citrus fruit to allow, under certain conditions, [[Page 39102]] Unshu oranges grown in citrus-canker free zones on Cheju Island, Republic of Korea, to be imported into the United States and moved interstate. This action relieves restrictions on the importation into and distribution within the United States of Unshu oranges from Cheju Island, Republic of Korea, without presenting a significant risk of spreading citrus canker. EFFECTIVE DATE: July 24, 1995. FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Peter Grosser or Mr. Frank Cooper, Senior Operations Officers, Port Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 139, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-6799. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Citrus canker is a disease that affects citrus, and is caused by the infectious bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. citri (Hasse) Dye. The strain of citrus canker that occurs in the Republic of Korea infects the twigs, leaves, and fruit of a wide spectrum of Citrus species. The regulations in 7 CFR 319.28 (referred to below as the regulations) prohibit the importation of citrus from Eastern and Southeastern Asia, Japan, Brazil, Paraguay, and other designated areas, except for Unshu oranges (Citrus reticulata Blanco var. unshu, also known as Satsuma) grown in citrus canker-free areas in Japan. After meeting certain growing, packing, and inspection requirements, Japanese Unshu oranges may be imported into any area of the United States except American Samoa, Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Texas, and the Virgin Islands of the United States. Also, under the regulations in 7 CFR 301.83, Unshu oranges grown in Japan are prohibited from being moved interstate from any quarantined area into or through any nonquarantined area of the United States; all areas of the United States, except for American Samoa, Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Texas, and the Virgin Islands of the United States, are quarantined. On March 29, 1995, we published in the Federal Register (60 FR 16067-16069, Docket No. 94-069-1) a proposal to amend the regulations by allowing the importation of Unshu oranges from Cheju Island, Republic of Korea, under the same conditions that apply to Unshu oranges grown in Japan. We proposed to allow these importations at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea, and after the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) conducted pest risk assessments that indicated that Unshu oranges from Cheju Island, Republic of Korea, could be imported into the United States under the conditions proposed without significant plant pest risk. Copies of the pest risk assessments are available, upon written request, from the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 30 days ending April 28, 1995. We received three comments by that date. They were from a state department of agriculture and two industry groups. One comment supported the proposal as written. Two commenters were both concerned with the potential pest risk and the replacement of plant pathologists with plant protection officers. The comments are discussed below by topic. Pest Risk Two commenters expressed concerns that the pest risk review was inadequate. They both felt that too much emphasis was placed on comparisons to Japan and the implied similarity in the growing areas. One commenter agreed that our experience with Japan showed a minimal threat from the importation of Unshu Oranges from Japan. However, that commenter was concerned about the lack of experience that we have with the Republic of Korea and recommended that we should only permit Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea to be imported into greatly restricted areas of the United States, as was done many years ago for Unshu oranges from Japan. The other commenter was concerned about the occurrence of citrus canker on Cheju Island, Republic of Korea. Both commenters were concerned about the interception of black spot on Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea. The regulations in 7 CFR 319.28(b) detail extensive safeguards on the growing, packing, and inspection of Unshu oranges exported from Japan into the United States. These safeguards also will apply to Unshu oranges imported from the Republic of Korea. Recent pest risk assessments for Unshu oranges from Japan and the Republic of Korea have shown that these safeguards will prevent the introduction of citrus canker and other citrus diseases from Unshu oranges imported into the United States from both Japan and Cheju Island, Republic of Korea. Our recommendation to permit entry under specified conditions was based on literature surveys for plant pests, the pest list provided by Korea, records of pest interceptions at U.S. ports, surveys conducted by Korea, and two on-site surveys conducted by APHIS. We also used our experience with the success of the safeguards used in Japan. We reviewed the evidence gathered from the sources mentioned above to determine what pests we might encounter. Although, citrus canker does occur in the Republic of Korea, one of our requirements is that the Unshu oranges must be grown and packed in canker-free export areas. These export areas must also be surrounded by a 400-meter-wide canker- free buffer zone in which only certain varieties of citrus may be grown. These safeguards, combined with required inspections, sterilizations, and other precautions, are sufficient to ensure the Unshu oranges are canker-free. The comment about black spot of citrus disease referred to interceptions of black spot on Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea. Citrus fruit from the Republic of Korea has been prohibited entry into the United States, therefore, we have no interception records of black spot from export quality fruit. Interceptions of fruit with black spot, referred to by the commenter, were from baggage and therefore may or may not have been on fruit produced in the Republic of Korea. Evidence of the occurrence of black spot in the Republic of Korea is inconclusive. Quarantine officials from the National Plant Quarantine Service of the Republic of Korea have stated that the disease has not been detected in their surveys. However, even if black spot is present in the Republic of Korea, we have determined that the safeguards provided for in the regulations will prevent the introduction of citrus-canker and other citrus diseases such as black spot into the United States from Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea. Therefore, we are not making any changes based on this comment. One commenter was concerned that no workplan was available to verify the Republic of Korea's ability to comply with the requirements for certification. A workplan is an agreement that identifies both countries' responsibilities for preclearance programs. Workplans for the importation into the United States of fruits and vegetables under preclearance programs are implemented prior to commencement of a preclearance program. These workplans are not drafted or evaluated until a proposed rule has been published in the Federal Register. A workplan between APHIS and the Republic of Korea's plant protection services has been agreed to and will be implemented soon. Therefore, we are not making any changes based on this comment. [[Page 39103]] Plant Protection Officers Two commenters were concerned about the replacement of plant pathologists with plant protection officers. They felt that the required inspections should continue to be performed by qualified plant pathologists. One commenter believed that plant protection officers might accurately identify canker symptoms, but that only trained plant pathologists could detect the incidence of other diseases, such as black spot, on fruit presented for inspection. It is our experience that plant protection officers can be trained to detect these diseases in the field, and that requiring plant pathologists to inspect the fruit is unnecessary. Therefore, based on the rationale set forth in the proposed rule and in this document, we are adopting the provisions of the proposal as a final rule, without change. Effective Date This is a substantive rule that relieves restrictions and, pursuant to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553, may be made effective less than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. Immediate implementation of this rule is necessary to provide relief to those persons who are adversely affected by restrictions we no longer find warranted. The shipping season for Unshu oranges from Korea will begin soon. Making this rule effective immediately will allow interested producers and others in the marketing chain to benefit during this year's shipping season. Therefore, the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this rule should be effective upon signature. Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act This 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. In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., we have performed a Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, set forth below, regarding the economic impact of this rule on small entities. This final rule allows Unshu oranges grown on Cheju Island, Republic of Korea, to be imported into and through 45 States after meeting certain requirements. Unshu oranges are imported for a small market in the United States and sell for two to three times the price of the domestically grown Satsuma tangerines, a citrus fruit similar to the Unshu orange. Imported Unshu oranges are available for only a short period each year, from early November into mid-January. In the 1992-93 growing season, domestic producers grew approximately 362 million pounds of tangerines in Arizona, California, and Florida. We estimate annual domestic production of Satsuma tangerines to be about 1.9 million pounds, 0.52 percent of total domestic tangerine production. We anticipate that following the promulgation of this rule, the Republic of Korea initially could export about 1.1 million pounds of Unshu oranges to the United States and increase this amount to around 3.3 to 4.4 million pounds within a few years. While 4.4 million pounds of imported Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea would only amount to 1.2 percent of the total domestic tangerine production, it would constitute over twice the annual domestic production of Satsuma tangerines. Again, however, these imported Unshu oranges could cost up to three times as much as domestically produced Satsuma tangerines. The aggregate economic impact of this rule is expected to be positive. U.S. consumers will benefit from a greater availability of Unshu oranges. U.S. importers will also benefit from a greater availability of Unshu oranges to import. In the course of rulemaking, if we had come across evidence indicating that importation of Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea would pose a significant risk of plant pest introduction, we would have considered either developing alternative requirements regarding that importation or continuing to prohibit the importation of Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea. However, our pest risk assessments and our review of public comments on the proposal indicated that importation of Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea would pose no significant risk of plant pest introduction. Executive Order 12778 This rule allows Unshu oranges to be imported into the United States from Cheju Island, Republic of Korea. State and local laws and regulations regarding Unshu oranges imported under this rule will be preempted while the fruit is in foreign commerce. Fresh Unshu oranges are generally imported for immediate distribution and sale to the consuming public, and will remain in foreign commerce until sold to the ultimate consumer. The question of when foreign commerce ceases in other cases must be addressed on a case-by-case basis. No retroactive effect will be given to this rule; and this rule will not require administrative proceedings before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule. Paperwork Reduction Act This rule contains no information collection or recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). List of Subjects 7 CFR Part 301 Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation. 7 CFR Part 319 Bees, Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Honey, Imports, Incorporation by reference, Nursery Stock, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Rice, Vegetables. Accordingly, 7 CFR parts 301 and 319 are amended as follows: PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES 1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150bb, 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 161, 162, and 164-167; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c). Sec. 301.83 [Amended] 2. In Sec. 301.83, paragraph (a) is amended by adding the phrase ``or on Cheju Island, Republic of Korea,'' immediately following ``Japan''. PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES 3. The authority citation for part 319 continues to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 151-167, and 450; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c). Sec. 319.28 [Amended] 4. Section 319.28 is amended as follows: a. Paragraph (a)(1) is amended by adding the phrase ``the Republic of Korea,'' immediately following the phrase ``Japan and adjacent islands,''. b. In paragraph (b), the introductory text is amended by adding the phrase ``or on Cheju Island, Republic of Korea,'' immediately following ``Japan''. c. In paragraph (b)(1), the first sentence is amended by removing the phrase ``Japanese Plant Protection [[Page 39104]] Service'' and adding the phrase ``plant protection service of the country of origin'' in its place; and in the third and sixth sentences, the word ``pathologists'' is removed and the phrase ``protection officers'' is added in its place and the word ``Japan'' is removed and the phrase ``the country of origin'' is added in its place. d. Paragraph (b)(2) is amended by removing the word ``pathologists'' and adding the phrase ``protection officers'' in its place and by removing the word ``Japan'' and adding the phrase ``the country of origin'' in its place. e. Paragraph (b)(4)(ii) is amended by removing the phrase ``Japanese Plant Protection Service'' and adding the phrase ``plant protection service of the country of origin'' in its place. f. Paragraph (b)(7) is removed. g. In paragraph (f), the word ``Japan'' is removed and the phrase ``the country of origin of the Unshu oranges'' is added in its place. Done in Washington, DC, this 24th day of July 1995. Lonnie J. King, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 95-18778 Filed 7-31-95; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-34-P