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:
May 30, 2019.
ADDRESSES:
Safeguard Staff, Import Policies and Export Reporting Division, Office of Trade Programs, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Stop 1020, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250–1020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Souleymane Diaby, (202) 720–2916,
Souleymane.Diaby@fas.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 tarification 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 (2019) 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).
Issued at Washington, DC, this 14th day of May 2019.
Ken Isley,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.
Product
2019 Quantity-based safeguard trigger
Trigger level
Unit
Period
Beef
283,562
MT
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Mutton
5,173
MT
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Cream
1,775,302
Liters
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Evaporated or Condensed Milk
5,107,390
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Nonfat Dry Milk
1,338,088
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Dried Whole Milk
11,375,584
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Dried Cream
15,550
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Dried Whey/Buttermilk
190,021
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Butter
1
52,867,302
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Butteroil
11,186,023
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Chocolate Crumb
10,418,615
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Lowfat Chocolate Crumb
111,129
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Animal Feed Containing Milk
1,203,666
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Ice Cream
8,729,991
Liters
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Dairy Mixtures
15,957,596
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Infant Formula Containing Oligosaccharides
4,277,333
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Blue Cheese
4,187,603
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Cheddar Cheese
10,185,298
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
American-Type Cheese
457,283
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Edam/Gouda Cheese
9,108,231
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Italian-Type Cheese
21,377,716
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Swiss Cheese with Eye Formation
28,612,344
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Gruyere Process Cheese
3,808,613
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
NSPF Cheese
49,699,313
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Lowfat Cheese
417,180
Kilograms
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Peanut Butter/Paste
4,327
MT
Jan 1, 2019–Dec 31, 2019.
Peanuts
1
40,078
29,060
MT
MT
April 1, 2018–Mar 31, 2019.
April 1, 2019–Mar 31, 2020.
Raw Cane Sugar
1
574,933
891,834
MT
MT
Oct 1, 2018–Sept 30, 2019.
Oct 1, 2019–Sept 30, 2020.
Refined Sugars and Syrups
1
396,386
185,800
MT
MT
Oct 1, 2018–Sept 30, 2019.
Oct 1, 2019–Sept 30, 2020.
Articles over 65% Sugar
405
429
MT
MT
Oct 1, 2018–Sept 30, 2019.
Oct 1, 2019–Sept 30, 2020.
Articles over 10% Sugar
8,028
9,189
MT
MT
Oct 1, 2018–Sept 30, 2019.
Oct 1, 2019–Sept 30, 2020.
Blended Syrups
362
403
MT
MT
Oct 1, 2018–Sept 30, 2019.
Oct 1, 2019–Sept 30, 2020.
Sweetened Cocoa Powder
111
261
MT
MT
Oct 1, 2019–Sept 30, 2020.
Oct 1, 2018–Sept 30, 2019.
Mixes and Doughs
243
436
MT
MT
Oct 1, 2018–Sept 30, 2019.
Oct 1, 2019–Sept 30, 2020.
Mixed Condiments and Seasonings
473
353
MT
MT
Oct 1, 2018–Sept 30, 2019.
Oct 1, 2019–Sept 30, 2020.
Short Staple Cotton
2
2,592,880
2,210,629
Kilograms
Kilograms
Sep 20, 2018–Sep 19, 2019.
Sep 20, 2019–Sep 19, 2020.
Harsh or Rough Cotton
32,958
32,968
Kilograms
Kilograms
Aug 1, 2018–July 31, 2019.
Aug 1, 2019–July 31, 2020.
Medium Staple Cotton
8,333
8,404
Kilograms
Kilograms
Aug 1, 2018–July 31, 2019.
Aug 1, 2019–July 31, 2020.
Extra Long Staple Cotton
722,750
700,495
Kilograms
Kilograms
Aug 1, 2018–July 31, 2019.
Aug 1, 2019–July 31, 2020.
Cotton Waste
2
1,019,017
1,050,003
Kilograms
Kilograms
Sep 20, 2018–Sep 19, 2019.
Sep 20, 2019–Sep 19, 2020.
Cotton Processed but not Spun
2
198,226
211,509
Kilograms
Kilograms
Sep 11, 2018–Sep 10, 2019.
Sep 11, 2019–Sep 10, 2020.
1
Includes change in U.S. consumption.
2
12-month period from October to September.