National Dairy Promotion and Research Program; Amendments to the Order, 53245-53247 [2016-19140]
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53245
Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
Vol. 81, No. 156
Friday, August 12, 2016
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains regulatory documents having general
applicability and legal effect, most of which
are keyed to and codified in the Code of
Federal Regulations, which is published under
50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by
the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of
new books are listed in the first FEDERAL
REGISTER issue of each week.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 1150
[Document No. AMS–DA–14–0074]
National Dairy Promotion and
Research Program; Amendments to
the Order
Agricultural Marketing Service,
USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
This final rule amends the
Dairy Promotion and Research Order
(Dairy Order). The amendment modifies
the number of National Dairy Promotion
and Research Board (Dairy Board)
importer members. The total number of
importer members would be reduced
from 2 members to 1 member, and the
domestic Dairy Board members would
remain the same at 36. The Dairy Order
requires that at least once every three
years, after the initial appointment of
importer members on the Dairy Board,
the Secretary shall review the average
volume of domestic production of dairy
products compared to the average
volume of imports of dairy products
into the United States during the
previous three years, and, on the basis
of that review, if warranted, reapportion
the importer representation on the Dairy
Board to reflect the proportional shares
of the United States market served by
domestic production and imported
dairy products.
DATES: Effective Date: August 12, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Whitney A. Rick, Director, Promotion,
Research and Planning Division, AMS,
USDA, 1400 Independence Ave. SW.,
Room 2958–S, Stop 0233, Washington,
DC 20250–0233. Phone: (202) 720–6909.
Email: Whitney.Rick@ams.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final
rule is issued pursuant to the Dairy
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SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
14:21 Aug 11, 2016
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Production Stabilization Act (Dairy Act)
of 1983 [7 U.S.C. 4501–4514], as
amended.
Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget
has waived the review process required
by Executive Order 12866 for this
action.
Executive Order 12988
This final rule has been reviewed
under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This final rule is not
intended to have a retroactive effect. In
accordance with 7 U.S.C. 4512(a), this
rule will not preempt or supersede any
other program relating to dairy product
promotion organized and operated
under the laws of the United States or
any State.
The Dairy Act provides that
administrative proceedings must be
exhausted before parties may file suit in
court. Under 7 U.S.C. 4509, any person
subject to the Dairy Order may file with
the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary)
a petition stating that the Dairy Order,
any provision of the Dairy Order, or any
obligation imposed in connection with
the Dairy Order is not in accordance
with the law and request a modification
of the Dairy Order or to be exempted
from the Dairy Order. Such person is
afforded the opportunity for a hearing
on the petition. After a hearing, the
Secretary would rule on the petition.
The Dairy Act provides that the district
court of the United States in any district
in which the person is an inhabitant or
has his principal place of business, has
jurisdiction to review the Secretary’s
ruling on the petition, provided a
complaint is filed not later than 20 days
after the date of the entry of the ruling.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
In accordance with the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601–612), the
Agricultural Marketing Service has
considered the economic impact of this
action on small entities and has certified
that this final rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
The purpose of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act is to fit regulatory actions
to the scale of businesses subject to such
actions so that small businesses will not
be disproportionately burdened.
The Dairy Act authorizes a national
program for dairy product promotion,
research and nutrition education.
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
Congress found that it is in the public
interest to authorize the establishment
of an orderly procedure for financing
(through assessment on all milk
produced in the United States for
commercial use and on imported dairy
products) and carrying out a
coordinated program of promotion
designed to strengthen the dairy
industry’s position in the marketplace
and to maintain and expand domestic
and foreign markets and uses for fluid
milk and dairy products.
The Small Business Administration
[13 CFR 121.201] defines such entities
with fewer than 500 employees as small
businesses. According to 2013 data from
the U.S. Census Bureau, 98.6 percent of
these types of firms had fewer than 500
employees (https://census.gov/econ/
subs/). According to the U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP), in 2014,
approximately 1,400 importers paid
assessments under Section 1150.152(b)
of the Dairy Order. Although data is not
available concerning the sizes of these
firms, it is reasonable to assume that
most of them would be considered small
businesses. The most common
classification for dairy product
importers is Grocery and Related
Product Merchant Wholesalers (North
American Industry Classification
System, category 4244).
The final rule amends the Dairy
Order, Section 1150.131(c), by reducing
the number of Dairy Board importer
representatives from 2 members to 1
member.
The amendment should not have a
significant economic impact on persons
subject to the Dairy Order. The changes
allow representation on the Dairy Board
to better reflect the volume of dairy
product imports into the United States.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
regulation [5 CFR part 1320] which
implements the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C. chapter 35], the
information collection requirements and
record keeping provisions imposed by
the Dairy Order have been previously
approved by OMB and assigned OMB
Control No. 0581–0093. No relevant
Federal rules have been identified that
duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this
rule.
E:\FR\FM\12AUR1.SGM
12AUR1
53246
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 156 / Friday, August 12, 2016 / Rules and Regulations
Statement of Consideration
Upon publication of this rule, the
Dairy Order is administered by a 37member Dairy Board, 36 members
representing 12 geographic regions
within the United States and 1 member
representing importers. The Dairy Order
requires in Section 1150.131(f) that at
least once every three years, after the
initial appointment of importer
representatives on the Dairy Board, the
Secretary shall review the average
volume of domestic production of dairy
products compared to the average
volume of imports of dairy products
into the United States during the
previous three years and, on the basis of
that review, if warranted, reapportion
the importer representation on the Dairy
Board to reflect the proportional shares
of the United States market served by
domestic production and imported
dairy products. This reapportionment
review is the first conducted since
importer members were appointed to
the Dairy Board on November 2, 2011.
For initial representation of importers
on the Dairy Board, the Dairy Act states
‘‘In making initial appointments to the
Board of importer representatives, the
Secretary shall appoint 2 members who
represent importers of dairy products
and are subject to assessment under the
order.’’ 7 U.S.C. 4504(b)(6)(A). For
subsequent representation of importers,
the Dairy Act goes on to state ‘‘At least
once every 3 years after the initial
appointment of importer representatives
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary
shall review the average volume of
domestic production of dairy products
compared to the average volume of
imports of dairy products into the
United States during the previous 3
years and, on the basis of that review,
shall reapportion importer
representation on the Board to reflect
the proportional share of the United
States market by domestic production
and imported dairy products.’’ 7 U.S.C.
4504(b)(6)(B).
Section 1150.131(f) of the Dairy Order
states the basis for the comparison of
domestic production of dairy products
to imported products should be
estimated total milk solids. The
calculation of total milk solids of
imported dairy products for
reapportionment purposes ‘‘shall be the
same as the calculation of total milk
solids of imported dairy products for
assessment purposes.’’ The
reapportionment review was not
conducted prior to 2015 because three
full years’ worth of data was not
available.
Using National Agricultural Statistical
Service (NASS) Annual Dairy Products
Summary data, the average U.S. milk
total solids for domestic dairy products
for 2012 to 2014 was 23,462 billion
pounds annually. Based on the total
milk solids number, each of the 36
domestic Dairy Board producer
members would represent 652 million
pounds of total milk solids (23,462
billion pounds divided by 36 producer
members equals 652 million pounds per
producer).
Using information received from CBP,
the average total milk solids imported
during 2012 to 2014 was 589 million
pounds (589 million pounds divided by
1 importer member equals 589 million
pounds per importer).
Accordingly, Table 1 summarizes,
based on U.S. total solids and imported
total solids, the adopted number of
Dairy Board seats for domestic and
importer members.
TABLE 1—DAIRY BOARD REPRESENTATION BASED ON U.S. TOTAL SOLIDS AND IMPORTED TOTAL SOLIDS
Average total
milk solids
(lbs.)
ehiers on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Domestic Producer ......................................................................................................
Importer ........................................................................................................................
On April 1, 2016, a proposed rule was
published in the Federal Register [81
FR 18802] inviting comments on
proposed modifications to the number
of importer representatives on the Dairy
Board. Interested parties were provided
30 days to comment on the proposed
amendment. USDA received three
timely comments from industry
organizations and an individual. Of
those comments, two were opposed the
rule and one did not address the merits
of the proposed rule.
One commenter opposed reducing the
number of importer members on the
Dairy Board, recognizing that
approximately 1,400 importers paid
assessments under the Dairy Order in
2014. The commenter stated that due to
the limits of the Dairy Tariff-Rate Import
Quota Licensing Program placed on the
volume of cheese imported into the
U.S., increasing import volumes by any
appreciable amount is impossible.
A second commenter also opposed
the proposal to reduce Dairy Board
VerDate Sep<11>2014
14:21 Aug 11, 2016
Jkt 238001
23,461,555,556
589,296,653
importer representation from two
members to one member, and urged for
the withdrawal of the proposed rule.
The commenter recognized the Dairy
Act requires importer representation to
reflect the proportional share of the U.S.
market by domestic production and
imported dairy products. However, the
commenter argued that increasing
import volumes by any appreciable
amount is impossible due to the limits
placed on the volume of cheese
imported into the U.S. by factors beyond
the control of the market, namely
quotas, tariffs and import licenses. The
commenter also stated safeguard triggers
require substantially higher tariffs if the
triggers are breached and noted this
occurred with butter in 2015 and may
occur in the coming year with several
cheeses. The commenter went on to
state that the Trans-Pacific Partnership
(TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and
Investment Partnership (TTIP)
agreements are focused on the
reduction, if not elimination of tariffs
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
Adopted
number of
board seats
36
1
Average total
milk solids
represented
per board member
(lbs.)
651,709,877
589,296,653
and quotas. As a result, TPP and TTIP
implementation would likely result in
an increase in imported dairy products,
including cheese, and would make the
representation of importers on the Dairy
Board even more meaningful.
As noted in the proposed rule, the
Dairy Order requires and provides
instruction on how to carry out a review
to determine whether or not a
reapportionment of importer members
on the Dairy Board is warranted.
Therefore, the proposed rule will not be
withdrawn. Neither commenter
disputed the method of nor the data
used to conduct the reapportionment
review. Similarly, an alternative process
for conducting the review was not
offered. Additionally, because the
Secretary is required to review importer
representation every three years, any
increase in imported dairy products,
cheese or otherwise, would be reflected
in the calculations used to determine
whether importer representation would
increase, remain the same, or decrease.
E:\FR\FM\12AUR1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 156 / Friday, August 12, 2016 / Rules and Regulations
This final rule adopts the proposed
rule without change, and therefore Dairy
Board importer representation is
decreased from two importer members
to one importer member.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is found
and determined that good cause exists
for not postponing the effective date of
this rule until 30 days after publication
in the Federal Register because this rule
should be in effect as soon as possible
to appoint Dairy Board members for the
2016–2019 term.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1150
Dairy products, Milk, Promotion,
Research.
For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, 7 CFR part 1150 is amended
as follows:
PART 1150—DAIRY PROMOTION
PROGRAM
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR
part 1150 continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 4501–4514 and 7
U.S.C. 7401.
2. In § 1150.131, paragraph (c) is
revised to read as follows:
■
§ 1150.131 Establishment and
membership.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) One member of the board shall be
an importer who is subject to
assessments under § 1150.152(b).
*
*
*
*
*
Dated: August 8, 2016.
Elanor Starmer,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2016–19140 Filed 8–11–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–02–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
9 CFR Parts 56, 145, 146, and 147
[Docket No. APHIS–2014–0101]
RIN 0579–AE16
National Poultry Improvement Plan and
Auxiliary Provisions
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
ehiers on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
AGENCY:
We are amending the National
Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP), its
auxiliary provisions, and the indemnity
regulations for the control of H5 and H7
low pathogenic avian influenza.
Specifically, we are clarifying who may
participate in the NPIP, amending
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
14:21 Aug 11, 2016
Jkt 238001
participation requirements, amending
definitions for poultry and breeding
stock, amending the approval process
for new diagnostic tests, and amending
slaughter plant inspection and
laboratory inspection and testing
requirements. These changes will align
the regulations with international
standards and make them more
transparent to Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service stakeholders and the
general public. The changes in this final
rule were voted on and approved by the
voting delegates at the Plan’s 2014
National Plan Conference.
DATES: Effective September 12, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.
Denise Brinson, DVM, Director,
National Poultry Improvement Plan, VS,
APHIS, USDA, 1506 Klondike Road,
Suite 101, Conyers, GA 30094–5104;
(770) 922–3496.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The National Poultry Improvement
Plan (NPIP, also referred to below as
‘‘the Plan’’) is a cooperative FederalState-industry mechanism for
controlling certain poultry diseases. The
Plan consists of a variety of programs
intended to prevent and control poultry
diseases. Participation in all Plan
programs is voluntary, but breeding
flocks, hatcheries, and dealers must first
qualify as ‘‘U.S. Pullorum-Typhoid
Clean’’ as a condition for participating
in the other Plan programs.
The Plan identifies States, flocks,
hatcheries, dealers, and slaughter plants
that meet certain disease control
standards specified in the Plan’s various
programs. As a result, customers can
buy poultry that has tested clean of
certain diseases or that has been
produced under disease-prevention
conditions.
The regulations in 9 CFR parts 145,
146, and 147 (referred to below as the
regulations) contain the provisions of
the Plan. The Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS, also referred
to as ‘‘the Service’’) of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (also referred
to as ‘‘the Department’’) amends these
provisions from time to time to
incorporate new scientific information
and technologies within the Plan. In
addition, the regulations in 9 CFR part
56 set out conditions for the payment of
indemnity for costs associated with
poultry that are infected with or
exposed to H5/H7 low pathogenic avian
influenza and provisions for a
cooperative control program for the
disease.
On March 24, 2016, we published in
the Federal Register (81 FR 15652–
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
53247
15660, Docket No. APHIS–2014–0101) a
proposal 1 to amend the regulations by
clarifying who may participate in the
NPIP and amending participation
requirements. In addition, we proposed
to amend definitions of poultry and
breeding stock, amend the approval
process for new diagnostic tests, and
amend slaughter plant inspection and
laboratory inspection and testing
requirements.
We solicited comments concerning
our proposal for 60 days ending May 23,
2016. We received one comment by that
date. It was from an individual. The
issues raised by the commenter are
discussed below.
In the March 2016 proposed rule, we
proposed to amend the definition of
breeding flock in § 56.1 to remove the
word ‘‘chicks’’ and replace it with the
word ‘‘progeny.’’ The commenter
objected to this change, suggesting that
many people would not know the
meaning of the latter term and would
find it confusing.
We are not making any changes to the
final rule in response to this comment.
As stated in the March 2016 proposed
rule, the term ‘‘progeny’’ is more
accurate than ‘‘chicks’’ in this context
because it is more inclusive of both
chicken and turkey flocks. Young
turkeys are known as poults rather than
chicks. In addition, as we noted in the
proposed rule, the change in
terminology also makes our definition of
breeding flock in § 56.1 consistent with
our definition of multiplier breeding
flock in § 145.1.
The March 2016 proposed rule
included a minor change to § 145.12,
which contains requirements for the
retention and examination of records for
all flocks maintained primarily for
hatching eggs. We proposed to specify,
in paragraph (b) of that section, that
records for all breeder flock hatcheries
must be made available for annual
examination by a State inspector.
Historically, testing records were
retained at the hatchery, which allowed
for examination of the records during
annual inspections, but that is no longer
the case. Many commercial hatcheries
now keep testing records at the
corporate office or another site. Our
proposed amendment to § 145.12 was
intended to reflect this change in
recordkeeping practices in the industry
and also to allow flexibility in the
regulations regarding who may make the
records available to the State inspector.
The commenter objected to this
proposed change, stating that the
1 To view the proposed rule and the comment we
received, go to https://www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0101.
E:\FR\FM\12AUR1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 156 (Friday, August 12, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53245-53247]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19140]
========================================================================
Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
Prices of new books are listed in the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each
week.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 156 / Friday, August 12, 2016 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 53245]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 1150
[Document No. AMS-DA-14-0074]
National Dairy Promotion and Research Program; Amendments to the
Order
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This final rule amends the Dairy Promotion and Research Order
(Dairy Order). The amendment modifies the number of National Dairy
Promotion and Research Board (Dairy Board) importer members. The total
number of importer members would be reduced from 2 members to 1 member,
and the domestic Dairy Board members would remain the same at 36. The
Dairy Order requires that at least once every three years, after the
initial appointment of importer members on the Dairy Board, the
Secretary shall review the average volume of domestic production of
dairy products compared to the average volume of imports of dairy
products into the United States during the previous three years, and,
on the basis of that review, if warranted, reapportion the importer
representation on the Dairy Board to reflect the proportional shares of
the United States market served by domestic production and imported
dairy products.
DATES: Effective Date: August 12, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Whitney A. Rick, Director, Promotion,
Research and Planning Division, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Ave. SW.,
Room 2958-S, Stop 0233, Washington, DC 20250-0233. Phone: (202) 720-
6909. Email: Whitney.Rick@ams.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued pursuant to the
Dairy Production Stabilization Act (Dairy Act) of 1983 [7 U.S.C. 4501-
4514], as amended.
Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget has waived the review process
required by Executive Order 12866 for this action.
Executive Order 12988
This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
Civil Justice Reform. This final rule is not intended to have a
retroactive effect. In accordance with 7 U.S.C. 4512(a), this rule will
not preempt or supersede any other program relating to dairy product
promotion organized and operated under the laws of the United States or
any State.
The Dairy Act provides that administrative proceedings must be
exhausted before parties may file suit in court. Under 7 U.S.C. 4509,
any person subject to the Dairy Order may file with the Secretary of
Agriculture (Secretary) a petition stating that the Dairy Order, any
provision of the Dairy Order, or any obligation imposed in connection
with the Dairy Order is not in accordance with the law and request a
modification of the Dairy Order or to be exempted from the Dairy Order.
Such person is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the petition.
After a hearing, the Secretary would rule on the petition. The Dairy
Act provides that the district court of the United States in any
district in which the person is an inhabitant or has his principal
place of business, has jurisdiction to review the Secretary's ruling on
the petition, provided a complaint is filed not later than 20 days
after the date of the entry of the ruling.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-
612), the Agricultural Marketing Service has considered the economic
impact of this action on small entities and has certified that this
final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. The purpose of the Regulatory Flexibility Act
is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of businesses subject to such
actions so that small businesses will not be disproportionately
burdened.
The Dairy Act authorizes a national program for dairy product
promotion, research and nutrition education. Congress found that it is
in the public interest to authorize the establishment of an orderly
procedure for financing (through assessment on all milk produced in the
United States for commercial use and on imported dairy products) and
carrying out a coordinated program of promotion designed to strengthen
the dairy industry's position in the marketplace and to maintain and
expand domestic and foreign markets and uses for fluid milk and dairy
products.
The Small Business Administration [13 CFR 121.201] defines such
entities with fewer than 500 employees as small businesses. According
to 2013 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 98.6 percent of these types
of firms had fewer than 500 employees (https://census.gov/econ/subs/).
According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in 2014,
approximately 1,400 importers paid assessments under Section
1150.152(b) of the Dairy Order. Although data is not available
concerning the sizes of these firms, it is reasonable to assume that
most of them would be considered small businesses. The most common
classification for dairy product importers is Grocery and Related
Product Merchant Wholesalers (North American Industry Classification
System, category 4244).
The final rule amends the Dairy Order, Section 1150.131(c), by
reducing the number of Dairy Board importer representatives from 2
members to 1 member.
The amendment should not have a significant economic impact on
persons subject to the Dairy Order. The changes allow representation on
the Dairy Board to better reflect the volume of dairy product imports
into the United States.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
regulation [5 CFR part 1320] which implements the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C. chapter 35], the information collection
requirements and record keeping provisions imposed by the Dairy Order
have been previously approved by OMB and assigned OMB Control No. 0581-
0093. No relevant Federal rules have been identified that duplicate,
overlap, or conflict with this rule.
[[Page 53246]]
Statement of Consideration
Upon publication of this rule, the Dairy Order is administered by a
37-member Dairy Board, 36 members representing 12 geographic regions
within the United States and 1 member representing importers. The Dairy
Order requires in Section 1150.131(f) that at least once every three
years, after the initial appointment of importer representatives on the
Dairy Board, the Secretary shall review the average volume of domestic
production of dairy products compared to the average volume of imports
of dairy products into the United States during the previous three
years and, on the basis of that review, if warranted, reapportion the
importer representation on the Dairy Board to reflect the proportional
shares of the United States market served by domestic production and
imported dairy products. This reapportionment review is the first
conducted since importer members were appointed to the Dairy Board on
November 2, 2011.
For initial representation of importers on the Dairy Board, the
Dairy Act states ``In making initial appointments to the Board of
importer representatives, the Secretary shall appoint 2 members who
represent importers of dairy products and are subject to assessment
under the order.'' 7 U.S.C. 4504(b)(6)(A). For subsequent
representation of importers, the Dairy Act goes on to state ``At least
once every 3 years after the initial appointment of importer
representatives under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall review the
average volume of domestic production of dairy products compared to the
average volume of imports of dairy products into the United States
during the previous 3 years and, on the basis of that review, shall
reapportion importer representation on the Board to reflect the
proportional share of the United States market by domestic production
and imported dairy products.'' 7 U.S.C. 4504(b)(6)(B).
Section 1150.131(f) of the Dairy Order states the basis for the
comparison of domestic production of dairy products to imported
products should be estimated total milk solids. The calculation of
total milk solids of imported dairy products for reapportionment
purposes ``shall be the same as the calculation of total milk solids of
imported dairy products for assessment purposes.'' The reapportionment
review was not conducted prior to 2015 because three full years' worth
of data was not available.
Using National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) Annual Dairy
Products Summary data, the average U.S. milk total solids for domestic
dairy products for 2012 to 2014 was 23,462 billion pounds annually.
Based on the total milk solids number, each of the 36 domestic Dairy
Board producer members would represent 652 million pounds of total milk
solids (23,462 billion pounds divided by 36 producer members equals 652
million pounds per producer).
Using information received from CBP, the average total milk solids
imported during 2012 to 2014 was 589 million pounds (589 million pounds
divided by 1 importer member equals 589 million pounds per importer).
Accordingly, Table 1 summarizes, based on U.S. total solids and
imported total solids, the adopted number of Dairy Board seats for
domestic and importer members.
Table 1--Dairy Board Representation Based on U.S. Total Solids and Imported Total Solids
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average total milk
Average total milk Adopted number solids represented
solids (lbs.) of board seats per board member
(lbs.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Domestic Producer....................................... 23,461,555,556 36 651,709,877
Importer................................................ 589,296,653 1 589,296,653
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On April 1, 2016, a proposed rule was published in the Federal
Register [81 FR 18802] inviting comments on proposed modifications to
the number of importer representatives on the Dairy Board. Interested
parties were provided 30 days to comment on the proposed amendment.
USDA received three timely comments from industry organizations and an
individual. Of those comments, two were opposed the rule and one did
not address the merits of the proposed rule.
One commenter opposed reducing the number of importer members on
the Dairy Board, recognizing that approximately 1,400 importers paid
assessments under the Dairy Order in 2014. The commenter stated that
due to the limits of the Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota Licensing
Program placed on the volume of cheese imported into the U.S.,
increasing import volumes by any appreciable amount is impossible.
A second commenter also opposed the proposal to reduce Dairy Board
importer representation from two members to one member, and urged for
the withdrawal of the proposed rule. The commenter recognized the Dairy
Act requires importer representation to reflect the proportional share
of the U.S. market by domestic production and imported dairy products.
However, the commenter argued that increasing import volumes by any
appreciable amount is impossible due to the limits placed on the volume
of cheese imported into the U.S. by factors beyond the control of the
market, namely quotas, tariffs and import licenses. The commenter also
stated safeguard triggers require substantially higher tariffs if the
triggers are breached and noted this occurred with butter in 2015 and
may occur in the coming year with several cheeses. The commenter went
on to state that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreements are
focused on the reduction, if not elimination of tariffs and quotas. As
a result, TPP and TTIP implementation would likely result in an
increase in imported dairy products, including cheese, and would make
the representation of importers on the Dairy Board even more
meaningful.
As noted in the proposed rule, the Dairy Order requires and
provides instruction on how to carry out a review to determine whether
or not a reapportionment of importer members on the Dairy Board is
warranted. Therefore, the proposed rule will not be withdrawn. Neither
commenter disputed the method of nor the data used to conduct the
reapportionment review. Similarly, an alternative process for
conducting the review was not offered. Additionally, because the
Secretary is required to review importer representation every three
years, any increase in imported dairy products, cheese or otherwise,
would be reflected in the calculations used to determine whether
importer representation would increase, remain the same, or decrease.
[[Page 53247]]
This final rule adopts the proposed rule without change, and
therefore Dairy Board importer representation is decreased from two
importer members to one importer member.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is found and determined that good
cause exists for not postponing the effective date of this rule until
30 days after publication in the Federal Register because this rule
should be in effect as soon as possible to appoint Dairy Board members
for the 2016-2019 term.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1150
Dairy products, Milk, Promotion, Research.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 1150 is
amended as follows:
PART 1150--DAIRY PROMOTION PROGRAM
0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1150 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 4501-4514 and 7 U.S.C. 7401.
0
2. In Sec. 1150.131, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 1150.131 Establishment and membership.
* * * * *
(c) One member of the board shall be an importer who is subject to
assessments under Sec. 1150.152(b).
* * * * *
Dated: August 8, 2016.
Elanor Starmer,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2016-19140 Filed 8-11-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
