WTO Agricultural Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger Levels

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Foreign Agricultural Service

WTO Agricultural Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger Levels

AGENCY:

Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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-based 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.

DATES:

This notice is applicable on September 1, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Multilateral Affairs Division, Trade Policy and Geographic Affairs, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Stop 1070, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-1070.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Souleymane Diaby, (202) 720-2916,

Souleymane.Diaby@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 when the volume of imports of that product exceeds the sum of (1) a base trigger level multiplied by the average of the last three years of available import data and (2) the change in yearly consumption in the most recent year for which data are available (provided that the final trigger level is not less than 105 percent of the three-year import average). The base trigger level is set at 105, 110, or 125 percent of the three-year import average, depending on the percentage of domestic consumption that is represented by imports. 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 1007 (Jan. 4, 1995). The Secretary of Agriculture further delegated this duty, which lies with the Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service (7 CFR 2.

601

(a)(42)). The Annex to this notice contains the updated quantity trigger levels, consistent with the provisions of Article 5.

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 (2021) and in the Secretary of Agriculture's Notice of Uruguay Round Agricultural Safeguard Trigger Levels, published in the

Federal Register

at 60 FR 427 (Jan. 4, 1995).

Notice:

As provided in Section 405 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, consistent with Article 5 of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, the safeguard quantity trigger levels previously notified are superseded 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 (Jan. 4, 1995).

Clay M. Hamilton,

Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.

Annex—Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger

Product

2021 Quantity-based safeguard trigger

Trigger level

Unit

Period

Beef

267,883

MT

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Mutton

3,384

MT

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Cream

3,047,452

Liters

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Evaporated or Condensed Milk

5,123,257

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Nonfat Dry Milk

131,867

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Dried Whole Milk

3,248,335

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Dried Cream

65,896

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Dried Whey/Buttermilk

76,425

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Butter

1

65,347,766

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Butteroil

18,209,591

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Chocolate Crumb

11,785,460

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Lowfat Chocolate Crumb

303,240

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Animal Feed Containing Milk

236,222

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Ice Cream

9,968,711

Liters

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Dairy Mixtures

7,581,497

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Infant Formula Containing Oligosaccharides

2,741,347

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Blue Cheese

4,086,430

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Cheddar Cheese

7,613,990

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

American-Type Cheese

80,873

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Edam/Gouda Cheese

10,535,143

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Italian-Type Cheese

22,873,353

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Swiss Cheese with Eye Formation

26,375,209

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Gruyere Process Cheese

4,008,437

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

NSPF Cheese

45,205,687

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Lowfat Cheese

107,243

Kilograms

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Peanut Butter/Paste

4,085

MT

Jan 1, 2021-Dec 31, 2021.

Peanuts

1

24,220

MT

April 1, 2020-Mar 31, 2021.

14,274

MT

April 1, 2021-Mar 31, 2022.

Raw Cane Sugar

1

766,524

MT

Oct 1, 2020-Sep 30, 2021.

812,543

MT

Oct 1, 2021-Sep 30, 2022.

Refined Sugars and Syrups

1

256,005

MT

Oct 1, 2020-Sep 30, 2021.

375,127

MT

Oct 1, 2021-Sep 30, 2022.

Articles over 65% Sugar

482

MT

Oct 1, 2020-Sep 30, 2021.

531

MT

Oct 1, 2021-Sep 30, 2022.

Articles over 10% Sugar

11,093

MT

Oct 1, 2020-Sep 30, 2021.

14,508

MT

Oct 1, 2021-Sep 30, 2022.

Blended Syrups

391

MT

Oct 1, 2020-Sep 30, 2021.

408

MT

Oct 1, 2021-Sep 30, 2022.

Sweetened Cocoa Powder

459

MT

Oct 1, 2020-Sep 30, 2021.

707

MT

Oct 1, 2021-Sep 30, 2022.

Mixes and Doughs

781

MT

Oct 1, 2020-Sep 30, 2021.

1,142

MT

Oct 1, 2021-Sep 30, 2022.

Mixed Condiments and Seasonings

350

MT

Oct 1, 2020-Sep 30, 2021.

348

MT

Oct 1, 2021-Sep 30, 2022.

Short Staple Cotton

2

45,688

Kilograms

Sep 20, 2020-Sep 19, 2021.

7,944

Kilograms

Sep 20, 2021-Sep 19, 2022.

Harsh or Rough Cotton

32,962

Kilograms

Aug 1, 2020-July 31, 2021.

10

Kilograms

Aug 1, 2021-July 31, 2022.

Medium Staple Cotton

8,417

Kilograms

Aug 1, 2020-July 31, 2021.

102

Kilograms

Aug 1, 2021-July 31, 2022.

Extra Long Staple Cotton

692,467

Kilograms

Aug 1, 2020-July 31, 2021.

813,823

Kilograms

Aug 1, 2021-July 31, 2022.

Cotton Waste

2

1,013,866

Kilograms

Sep 20, 2020-Sep 19, 2021.

1,458,693

Kilograms

Sep 20, 2021-Sep 19, 2022.

Cotton Processed but not Spun

2

124,933

Kilograms

Sep 11, 2020-Sep 10, 2021.

23,676

Kilograms

Sep 11, 2021-Sep 10, 2022

1

Includes change in U.S. consumption.

2

12-month period from October to September.

[FR Doc. 2021-18817 Filed 8-31-21; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-10-P