[Federal Register: December 22, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 245)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 71039-71040]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22de03-9]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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[[Page 71039]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 60
[Doc. No. LS-04-04]
RIN 0581-AC26
Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling of Beef, Lamb, Pork, Fish,
Perishable Agricultural Commodities, and Peanuts
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period; correction.
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SUMMARY: On October 30, 2003, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
published a proposed rule (68 FR 61944) for the mandatory country of
origin labeling program as mandated by the Farm Security and Rural
Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill) and the 2002 Supplemental
Appropriations Act (Appropriations Act), which amended the Agricultural
Marketing Act of 1946 (Act) to require retailers to notify their
customers of the country of origin of covered commodities beginning
September 30, 2004. AMS is extending the comment period to February 27,
2004, at the request of industry trade associations to provide
interested parties with additional time to file comments. In addition,
AMS is making corrections to the ``Analysis of Benefits and Costs''
section of the preliminary cost-benefit assessment of the proposed rule
in order to correct minor transcription errors. The estimated
recordkeeping and implementation costs as well as the estimated overall
impact to the economy as a result of the proposed rule remain
unchanged.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 27, 2004, to be
assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Country of Origin Labeling
Program, Room 2092-S, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), USDA, STOP
0249, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0249, or by
facsimile to 202-720-3499, or by e-mail to cool@usda.gov. Comments
received will be posted to the AMS Web site at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/cool/.
Comments sent to the above location that
specifically pertain to the information collection and recordkeeping
requirements should also be sent to the Desk Officer for Agriculture,
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget (OMB), New Executive Office Building, 725 17th Street, NW., Room
725, Washington, DC 20503.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Keeney, Deputy Administrator,
Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, by telephone on 202-720-4722,
or via e-mail at: robert.keeney@usda.gov; or William Sessions,
Associate Deputy Administrator, Livestock and Seed Program, AMS, USDA,
by telephone on (202) 720-5705, or via e-mail at:
william.sessions@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Farm Bill and the Appropriations Act
amended the Act to require retailers to notify their customers of the
country of origin of covered commodities beginning September 30, 2004.
The law also requires the Department of Agriculture to issue
regulations to implement a mandatory COOL program not later than
September 30, 2004.
On October 30, 2003, AMS published a proposed rule in the Federal
Register (68 FR 61944) for the mandatory country of origin labeling
program. The comment period was originally scheduled to end on December
29, 2003. However, industry trade organizations have requested
additional time to study the proposed regulation to develop more
meaningful comments. Because the proposed rule will significantly
impact a large number of entities, AMS has determined that there is
sufficient justification for extending the comment period 60 days until
February 27, 2004.
In accordance with Executive Order 12866, as part of the rulemaking
process AMS examined the economic impact of the proposed rule for the
mandatory COOL program, which was published in the October 30, 2003,
Federal Register (68 FR 61944). Due to transcription errors, several
numerical values were reported incorrectly in the section of the
economic impact assessment that addressed effects of the proposed rule
on the economy. The transcription errors occurred on pages 61970 and
61971 of the October 30, 2003, Federal Register notice, Docket Number
LS-03-04. The last sentence beginning at the bottom of the first column
of page 61970 was published as follows:
``The results of our analysis indicate that U.S. production of all
the covered commodities combined will decline from 0.15 percent to 0.92
percent and that the overall price level for these commodities (a
weighted average index of the prices received by suppliers for their
commodities) will increase by 0.06 percent to 0.64 percent.''
The originally published sentence should be replaced with the
following sentence, which replaces three incorrectly reported numerical
values:
``The results of our analysis indicate that U.S. production of all
the covered commodities combined will decline from 0.12 percent to 0.30
percent and that the overall price level for these commodities (a
weighted average index of the prices received by suppliers for their
commodities) will increase by 0.06 percent to 0.25 percent.''
On page 61971, four numbers were reported incorrectly in Table 9--
Estimated Impact of Proposed Rule on U.S. Production, Prices, and Trade
of Impacted Sectors. As initially published, percentage changes in the
volume of exports of hogs, beef and lamb, pork, and fish under the Low
Incremental Cost scenario were incorrectly reported. Initially
published and corrected values for the affected cells of Table 9 are as
follows:
Corrected numerical values for Table 9.--Estimated impact of
proposed rule on U.S. production, prices and trade of impacted sectors
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exports percent
change from the
base year
---------------------
As
initially Replace
published with
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Low Incremental Cost:
Hogs.......................................... -0.05 -0.09
Beef and Lamb................................. -0.05 -0.13
Pork.......................................... -0.09 -0.16
Fish.......................................... -0.12 -0.27
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It should be noted that Table 10--Estimated Changes in U.S.
Production, Prices, and Trade for Affected
[[Page 71040]]
Commodities, which translates the percentage changes shown in Table 9
into unit values, is correct as initially published on page 61972.
The transcription errors relate to incorrectly reported outcomes of
the analysis and in no way impact the analysis itself. The estimated
costs to the U.S. economy after a decade of adjustment remain unchanged
from the range of $138 million to $596 million in reduced consumers'
purchasing power. Moreover, the estimated recordkeeping and
implementation costs remain unchanged.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.
Dated: December 17, 2003.
A.J. Yates,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 03-31492 Filed 12-17-03; 4:03 pm]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P