SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Under the regulations in “Subpart L-Fruits and Vegetables” (7 CFR 319.56-1 through 319.56-12, referred to below as the regulations), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits or restricts the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United States from certain parts of the world to prevent plant pests from being introduced into and spread within the United States.

Section 319.56-4 of the regulations provides requirements for authorizing the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United States and revising existing requirements for the importation of fruits and vegetables. Paragraph (c) of that section provides that the name and origin of all fruits and vegetables authorized for importation into the United States, as well as the requirements for their importation, be listed on the internet in APHIS' Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements database, or FAVIR ^[1] ( https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/​manual). It also provides that, if the Administrator of APHIS determines that any of the phytosanitary measures required for the importation of a particular fruit or vegetable are no longer necessary to reasonably mitigate the plant pest risk posed by the fruit or vegetable, APHIS will publish a notice in the Federal Register making its pest risk documentation and determination available for public comment.

In accordance with that process, we published a notice ^[2] in the Federal Register on March 15, 2021 (86 FR 14301-14302, Docket No. APHIS-2020-0063), in which we announced the availability, for review and comment, of a pest list and a commodity import evaluation document that evaluated the risks associated with allowing importation into all ports of the United States of non-precleared fresh sand pear fruit from the Republic of Korea.

We solicited comments on the notice for 60 days ending May 14, 2021. We received one comment by that date, from a trade organization opposed to our proposal. The commenter stated that APHIS should not revise requirements for imports into all ports of the United States of fresh sand pear from the Republic of Korea because that country has not followed through on a pledge to open its markets to imports of U.S. pome fruit.

We are making no changes in response to the commenter. Import prohibitions based on trade reciprocity are beyond the scope of APHIS' statutory authority under the Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.). Under the PPA, APHIS will prohibit the importation of a fruit or vegetable into the United States only if we determine that the prohibition is necessary to prevent the introduction or dissemination of a plant pest or noxious weed within the United States. APHIS and trade offices within USDA continue to pursue new or expanded export markets for U.S. agriculture, including the export of pome fruit to the Republic of Korea.

Therefore, in accordance with the regulations in § 319.56-4(c)(3)(iii), we are announcing our decision to authorize the importation of fresh, non-precleared sand pear from the Republic of Korea into all ports of the United States subject to the following phytosanitary measures: ^[3]

• Sand pears must be imported as commercial consignments only.
• Sand pears must be grown in places of production and packed in packinghouses registered with the Republic of Korea national plant protection organization (NPPO).
• Places of production must be inspected for symptoms of quarantine pests and diseases. If such pests and diseases are found, adequate mitigations measures should be implemented.
• Sand pears must be bagged when the fruit is between 2.5 and 3.5 centimeters in diameter. All fruit must be bagged by June 30. Bagging is required to prevent all arthropod pests from infesting the fruits.
• Each sand pear consignment must be labeled to allow trace back.
• Each sand pear consignment must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Republic of Korea NPPO stating that the consignment has been inspected and found free of quarantine pests.

These conditions will be listed in the Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements database (available at https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/​manual). In addition to these specific measures, fresh sand pear from the Republic of Korea will be subject to the general requirements listed in § 319.56-3 that are applicable to the importation of all fruits and vegetables.

Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the recordkeeping and burden requirements associated with this action are included under the Office of Management and Budget control number 0579-0049.

E-Government Act Compliance

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is committed to compliance with the E-Government Act to promote the use of the internet and other information technologies, to provide increased opportunities for citizen access to Government ( printed page 58479) information and services, and for other purposes. For information pertinent to E-Government Act compliance related to this notice, please contact Mr. Joseph Moxey, APHIS' Paperwork Reduction Act Coordinator, at (301) 851-2483.

Congressional Review Act

Pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs designated this action as not a major rule, as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

Authority:7 U.S.C. 1633, 7701-7772, and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.