Change in Disease Status of Austria Because of Rinderpest, Foot- and-Mouth Disease, and Swine Vesicular Disease

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

9 CFR Part 94

[Docket No. 93-173-1]

Change in Disease Status of Austria Because of Rinderpest, Foot-

and-Mouth Disease, and Swine Vesicular Disease

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: We are proposing to declare Austria free of rinderpest, foot-

and-mouth disease, and swine vesicular disease. As part of this

proposed action, we would add Austria to the lists of countries that,

although declared free of rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease, and swine

vesicular disease, are subject to restrictions on meat and other animal

products offered for importation into the United States. We would also

add Austria to the list of countries from which the importation into

the United States of llamas and alpacas is restricted. Declaring

Austria free of rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease, and swine vesicular

disease appears to be appropriate because the last outbreak of

rinderpest in Europe occurred prior to 1921, there have been no

outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in Austria since 1981, and there

have been no outbreaks of swine vesicular disease since 1979. This

proposed rule would remove the prohibition on the importation into the

United States, from Austria, of ruminants and fresh, chilled, and

frozen meat of ruminants, although those importations would be subject

to certain restrictions. This proposed rule would also relieve

restrictions on the importation, from Austria, of milk and milk

products of ruminants.

DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or

before May 2, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to

Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, USDA, room 804,

Federal Building, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Please

state that your comments refer to Docket No. 93-173-1. Comments

received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th

Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to

inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to

facilitate entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Kathleen J. Akin, Senior Staff

Veterinarian, Import-Export Products Staff, National Center for Import-

Export, Veterinary Services, APHIS, USDA, room 755, Federal Building,

6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, (301) 436-7830.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The regulations in 9 CFR part 94 (referred to below as the

regulations) govern the importation into the United States of specified

animals and animal products in order to prevent the introduction into

the United States of various animal diseases, including rinderpest,

foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), bovine spongiform encephalopathy, African

swine fever, hog cholera, and swine vesicular disease (SVD). These are

dangerous and destructive communicable diseases of ruminants and swine.

Section 94.1(a)(1) of the regulations provides that rinderpest or

FMD exists in all countries of the world except those listed in

Sec. 94.1(a)(2), which have been declared to be free of both diseases.

Section 94.12(a) of the regulations provides that SVD is considered to

exist in all countries of the world except those listed in

Sec. 94.12(a), which have been declared to be free of SVD. We will

consider declaring a country to be free of rinderpest, FMD, and SVD if

there have been no reported cases of the diseases in that country for

at least the previous 1-year period and no vaccinations for rinderpest

or FMD have been administered to swine or ruminants in that country for

at least the previous 1-year period.

The last outbreak of rinderpest in Europe occurred prior to 1921.

There have been no outbreaks of FMD in Austria since 1981, and there

have been no vaccinations for FMD in Austria since that 1981 outbreak.

There have been no outbreaks of SVD since 1979. Based on these

considerations, the government of Austria has requested that the U.S.

Department of Agriculture (USDA) declare Austria to be free of

rinderpest, FMD, and SVD.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reviewed the

documentation submitted by the government of Austria in support of its

request, and a team of APHIS officials traveled to Austria in October

1993 to conduct an on-site evaluation of the country's animal health

program with regard to the rinderpest, FMD, and SVD situation in

Austria. The evaluation consisted of a review of Austria's veterinary

services, laboratory and diagnostic procedures, vaccination practices,

and administration of laws and regulations intended to prevent the

introduction of rinderpest, FMD, and SVD into Austria through the

importation of animals, meat, or animal products. The APHIS officials

conducting the on-site evaluation concluded that Austria is free of

rinderpest, FMD, and SVD. (Details concerning the on-site evaluation

are available, upon written request, from the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.)

Therefore, based on the information discussed above, we are

proposing to amend Sec. 94.1(a)(2) by adding Austria to the list of

countries declared to be free of both rinderpest and FMD. We are also

proposing to amend Sec. 94.12(a) by adding Austria to the list of

countries declared to be free of SVD. These proposed actions would

remove the prohibition on the importation, from Austria, of ruminants

and fresh, chilled, and frozen meat of ruminants, and would relieve

restrictions on the importation, from Austria, of milk and milk

products of ruminants. However, because Austria has not been declared

free of hog cholera, the importation into the United States, from

Austria, of pork and pork products would continue to be restricted

under Sec. 94.9 of the regulations, and the importation of swine from

Austria would continue to be prohibited under Sec. 94.10. Similarly,

for the reasons discussed below, we would make the importation of the

meat and other animal products of ruminants or swine from Austria

subject to the restrictions contained in Secs. 94.11 and 94.13.

We are proposing to amend Sec. 94.11(a) by adding Austria to the

list of countries that have been declared free of rinderpest and FMD

but from which the importation of meat and other animal products is

restricted. Similarly, we are proposing to amend Sec. 94.13(a) by

adding Austria to the list of countries that have been declared free of

SVD but from which the importation of pork and pork products is

restricted. The countries listed in Secs. 94.11(a) and 94.13(a) are

subject to these restrictions because they: (1) Supplement their

national meat supply by importing fresh, chilled, or frozen meat of

ruminants or swine from countries that are designated in Sec. 94.1(a)

as infected with rinderpest or FMD or in Sec. 94.12 as infected with

SVD; (2) have a common land border with countries designated as

infected with rinderpest, FMD, or SVD; or (3) import ruminants or swine

from countries designated as infected with rinderpest, FMD, or SVD

under conditions less restrictive than would be acceptable for

importation into the United States.

Austria supplements its national meat supply by importing fresh,

chilled, and frozen meat of ruminants and swine from countries

designated in Secs. 94.1(a)(1) and 94.12(a) as countries in which

rinderpest, FMD, or SVD exists. In addition, Austria has common land

borders with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy,

Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. Those countries are designated in

Sec. 94.1(a)(1) as countries in which rinderpest or FMD exists and,

except for Switzerland, are also designated in Sec. 94.12(a) as

countries where SVD exists. As a result, even though Austria appears to

qualify for designation as a country free of rinderpest, FMD, and SVD,

there is the potential for meat or other animal products produced in

Austria to be commingled with the fresh, chilled, or frozen meat of

animals from a country in which rinderpest, FMD, or SVD exists. This

potential for commingling constitutes an undue risk of introducing

rinderpest, FMD, or SVD into the United States.

Therefore, we are proposing that meat and other animal products of

ruminants or swine, as well as any ship's stores, airplane meals, or

baggage containing such meat or other animal products, offered for

importation into the United States from Austria be subject to the

restrictions specified in Secs. 94.11 and 94.13 of the regulations and

to the applicable requirements contained in the regulations of the

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service at 9 CFR chapter III.

Sections 94.11 and 94.13 generally require that the meat and other

animal products of ruminants or swine be: (1) Prepared in an inspected

establishment that is eligible to have its products imported into the

United States under the Federal Meat Inspection Act; and (2)

accompanied by an additional certification from a full-time salaried

veterinary official of the national government of the exporting

country, stating that the meat or other animal product has not been

commingled with or exposed to meat or other animal products originating

in, imported from, or transported through a country infected with

rinderpest, FMD, or SVD.

We are also proposing to add Austria to another list, this one in

Sec. 94.1(d)(1). All countries in which rinderpest or FMD has been

known to exist that have been declared free of rinderpest and FMD on or

after September 28, 1990, must be added to this list. Adding Austria to

this list would mean that no llama or alpaca could be imported or

entered into the United States from Austria unless in accordance with 9

CFR 92.435. We are not, however, aware of any llamas or alpacas in

Austria that are available for export.

Miscellaneous

In addition to the proposed changes set forth above, we would make

several nonsubstantive editorial changes in Sec. 94.13 for the sake of

clarity or to correct grammatical errors.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866.

For this action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its

review process required by Executive Order 12866.

This proposed rule, if adopted, would amend the regulations in part

94 by adding Austria to the list of countries declared to be free of

rinderpest and FMD and to the list of countries declared free of SVD.

This action would remove the prohibition on the importation into the

United States, from Austria, of ruminants and fresh, chilled, and

frozen meat of ruminants, although those importations would be subject

to certain restrictions. This proposed revision would also relieve

restrictions on the importation, from Austria, of milk and milk

products of ruminants.

Based on available information, the Department does not anticipate

a major increase in exports of ruminants and fresh, chilled, or frozen

meat of ruminants from Austria into the United States as a result of

this proposed rule.

The value of total U.S. imports of cattle in 1992 was $1.24

billion, and the value of total U.S. imports of sheep in 1992 was about

$2.0 million. The United States did not import any cattle or sheep from

Austria during 1992. In fact, with the exception of a small number of

cattle imported from the former Czechoslovakia, no cattle or sheep were

imported into the United States from any country in Europe during 1992

(USDA, Economic Research Service [ERS], ``Foreign Agricultural Trade of

the United States: Calendar Year 1992 Supplement,'' 1992). Clearly,

Europe is not a source of ruminants for the United States, and it is

unlikely that declaring Austria free of rinderpest and FMD would have

any effect on the existing trade patterns.

Due to current APHIS restrictions, the United States does not

import any uncooked meat or meat products from Austria. Total U.S. meat

production in 1991 (excluding pork) was just under 10.7 million metric

tons, while Austrian meat production in 1991 reached approximately

230,000 metric tons, about 2 percent of the U.S. total (USDA, National

Agricultural Statistics Service, ``Agricultural Statistics, 1992,''

1992). Therefore, even if Austria exported a significant portion of its

meat production exclusively to the United States, which is unlikely,

the effect of those exports on U.S. domestic prices or supplies would

be negligible.

As with the ruminants and meat products discussed above, the

Department does not anticipate a major increase in exports of milk and

milk products from Austria into the United States as a result of this

proposed rule. The importation into the United States of all dairy

products, except for casein and other caseinates, is restricted by

quotas. Although the importation of casein into the United States is

not regulated by quotas, world prices of casein are competitively set.

The United States does not produce casein, but does import more than

half of the casein produced in the world. The regulations currently

allow casein and other caseinates to be imported into the United States

from countries where rinderpest or FMD exists if the importer has

applied for and obtained written permission from the Administrator. The

United States did not import any casein from Austria in 1992 (USDA,

ERS, ``Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States: Calendar Year

1992 Supplement,'' 1992). Declaring Austria free of rinderpest and FMD,

thus removing the requirement for written permission from the

Administrator, is not expected to have any effect on the amount of

casein imported into the United States from Austria because the current

restrictions do not substantially impede imports.

The importation of bovine semen and cattle embryos from countries

affected with rinderpest and FMD is restricted under 9 CFR part 98.

Although this proposed rule would have the effect of removing certain

restrictions on the importation of bovine semen and cattle embryos from

Austria, the economic effect of this proposed rule on the bovine semen

and cattle embryo industries is also expected to be minimal. The United

States is a net exporter of bovine semen and cattle embryos. In 1992,

the value of U.S. bovine semen and cattle embryo imports was $4 million

and $195,000, respectively, while the value of U.S. bovine semen and

cattle embryo exports was $49.3 million and $6.8 million, respectively

(USDA, ERS, ``Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States: Calendar

Year 1992 Supplement,'' 1992). Although it is likely that a few U.S.

importers would be interested in importing bovine semen or cattle

embryos from Austria if this proposed rule is adopted, the amount of

each that might be imported would be minimal when compared to U.S.

domestic production.

Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would

not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small

entities.

Executive Order 12778

This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778,

Civil Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is adopted: (1) All State

and local laws and regulations that are inconsistent with this rule

will be preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will be given to this

rule; and (3) administrative proceedings will not be required before

parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C.

3501 et seq.), the information collection or recordkeeping requirements

included in this proposed rule have been approved by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB), and there are no new requirements. The

assigned OMB control number is 0579-0015.

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 94

Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock, Meat and meat products, Milk,

Poultry and poultry products, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Accordingly, 9 CFR part 94 would be amended as follows:

PART 94--RINDERPEST, FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE, FOWL PEST (FOWL

PLAGUE), VELOGENIC VISCEROTROPIC NEWCASTLE DISEASE, AFRICAN SWINE

FEVER, HOG CHOLERA, AND BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY:

PROHIBITED AND RESTRICTED IMPORTATIONS

1. The authority citation for part 94 would continue to read as

follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 147a, 150ee, 161, 162, and 450; 19 U.S.C.

1306; 21 U.S.C. 111, 114a, 134a, 134b, 134c, 134f, 136, and 136a; 31

U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 4331, 4332; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(d).

Sec. 94.1 [Amended]

2. In Sec. 94.1, paragraph (a)(2) would be amended by adding

``Austria,'' immediately after ``Australia,''.

3. In Sec. 94.1, paragraph (d)(1) would be amended by removing

``September 28, 1990;'' and by adding ``September 28, 1990: Austria,''

in its place.

Sec. 94.11 [Amended]

4. In Sec. 94.11, paragraph (a), the first sentence would be

amended by adding ``Austria,'' immediately before ``The Bahamas,''.

Sec. 94.12 [Amended]

5. In Sec. 94.12, paragraph (a), the first sentence would be

amended by adding ``Austria,'' immediately after ``Australia,''.

Sec. 94.13 [Amended]

6. In Sec. 94.13, in the introductory text, the first sentence

would be amended by adding ``Austria,'' immediately before ``The

Bahamas,''; by adding a comma immediately after ``Yugoslavia''; by

removing the words ``Sec. 94.12(a); are countries which'' and adding

the words ``Sec. 94.12(a), are countries that'' in their place; and by

removing the words ``or which have a common border with such countries;

or which'' and adding the words ``have a common border with such

countries; or'' in their place.

Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of February 1994.

Patricia Jensen,

Acting Assistant Secretary, Marketing and Inspection Services.

[FR Doc. 94-4727 Filed 3-1-94; 8:45 am]

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