Importation of Potatoes From Mexico

SUMMARY: We are amending the regulations concerning the importation of fruits and vegetables to allow the importation of fresh potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) from Mexico into the United States. As a condition of entry, the potatoes must be produced in accordance with a systems approach employing a combination of mitigation measures to prevent the introduction and dissemination of plant pests into the United States. The potatoes must be imported in commercial consignments, must be produced by a grower who is registered in a certification program, must be packed in registered packinghouses, must be washed, cleaned, and treated with a sprout inhibitor, and must be inspected after packing for quarantine pests. The potatoes must also be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate that declares that the conditions for importation have been met. Finally, the national plant protection organization (NPPO) of Mexico must provide a bilateral workplan to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) that details the activities that the NPPO of Mexico will carry out to meet these requirements, subject to APHIS' approval. This action allows the importation of potatoes from Mexico while continuing to protect against the introduction of plant pests into the United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Effective Date: April 25, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Lamb, Regulatory Policy Specialist, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 851-2018.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations in "Subpart-Fruits and Vegetables" (7 CFR 319.56-1 through 319.56-64, referred to below as the regulations) prohibit or restrict the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United States from certain parts of the world to prevent the introduction and dissemination of plant pests.

The national plant protection organization (NPPO) of Mexico requested that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) amend the regulations to allow fresh potatoes from Mexico (Solanum tuberosum L.) to be imported into the United States.

In response to that request, we prepared a pest risk assessment (PRA) and a risk management document (RMD). Based on the conclusions of the PRA and the RMD, on September 27, 2013, we published in the Federal Register (78 FR 59628-59632, Docket No. APHIS-2013-0037) a proposed rule /1/ to amend the regulations to authorize the importation of fresh potatoes from Mexico into the United States, provided that the potatoes were produced in accordance with a systems approach consisting of the following requirements: Production by a grower who is part of a certification program administered by the NPPO of Mexico; packing in packinghouses that are registered with the NPPO; post-harvest washing, cleaning, and treatment of the potatoes with a sprout inhibitor; inspection after packing for quarantine pests; issuance of a phytosanitary certificate; importation in commercial consignments only; and transport of the potatoes in a sealed means of conveyance from the packinghouse to the port of first arrival in the United States.

FOOTNOTE 1 To view the proposed rule, its supporting documents, or the comments that we received, go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0037. END FOOTNOTE

We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending November 26, 2013. We received eight comments by that date. They were from a national organization that represents U.S. potato producers, a State organization that represents potato producers, a domestic potato producer, and private citizens. The comments that we received are discussed below, by topic.

General Comments on the Proposed Rule

One commenter stated that APHIS should prohibit all fruits and vegetables from other countries from being imported into the United States. Another commenter stated that we should prohibit all potato imports.

Such prohibitions would be beyond the scope of APHIS' statutory authority under the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq., referred to below as the PPA). Under the PPA, APHIS may prohibit the importation of a fruit or vegetable into the United States only if we determine that the prohibition is necessary in order to prevent the introduction or dissemination of a plant pest or noxious weed within the United States.

Additionally, as a signatory to the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement), the United States has agreed that any prohibitions it places on the importation of fruits and vegetables will be based on scientific evidence, and will not be maintained without sufficient scientific evidence. The blanket prohibitions requested by the commenters would not be in keeping with this agreement.

A commenter stated that the NPPO of Mexico cannot be trusted to abide by the provisions of the proposed rule.

Like the United States, Mexico is also a signatory to the SPS Agreement. As such, it has agreed to respect the phytosanitary measures the United States imposes on the importation of plants and plant products from Mexico when the United States demonstrates the need to impose these measures in order to protect plant health within the United States. The PRA that accompanied the proposed rule provided evidence of such a need.

A commenter expressed concern that the importation of potatoes from Mexico poses a high risk of introducing quarantine pests into the United States.

For the reasons explained in the proposed rule, the RMD, and this final rule, we consider the provisions of this final rule to adequately mitigate the risk associated with the importation of potatoes from Mexico.

A commenter expressed concern that APHIS would not be able to enforce the provisions of the proposed rule.

We are confident that we have sufficient personnel and resources to do so.

Comments Regarding the Pest Risk Assessment

As we mentioned above, we prepared a PRA in response to the NPPO of Mexico's request that we authorize the importation of fresh potatoes from Mexico into the United States. The PRA listed all pests of potatoes known to exist in Mexico. The PRA also identified eight quarantine pests present in Mexico that could be introduced into the United States through the importation of fresh potatoes:

* Copitarsia decolora (Guenee), a moth.

* Epicaerus cognatus Sharp, potato weevil.

* Nacobbus aberrans (Thorne) Thorne & Allen, false root-knot nematode.

* Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2 (Smith) Yabuuchi et al., a bacterium that causes brown rot of potato.

* Rosellinia bunodes (Berk. & Broome) Sacc., a pathogenic fungus.

* R. pepo Pat., a pathogenic fungus.

* Synchytrium endobioticum (Schilb.) Percival, a pathogenic fungus that causes potato wart disease.

* Thecaphora solani (Thirum. & M. O'Brien) Mordue, a pathogenic fungus that causes potato smut.

The PRA determined that three of these eight pests-- N. aberrans, R. solanacearum race 3 biovar 2, and S. endobioticum --pose a high risk of following the pathway of fresh potatoes from Mexico into the United States and having negative effects on U.S. agriculture. The remaining five pests-- C. decolora, E. cognatus, R. bunodes, R. pepo, and T. solani --were rated as having a medium risk potential.

A commenter stated that, because of the great number of pests of potatoes known to exist in Mexico, it is likely that there is a pest of potatoes in Mexico that APHIS is not aware of. Because of this possibility, the commenter suggested APHIS not finalize the proposed rule.

The PRA that accompanied the proposed rule provided a list of all pests of potatoes known to exist in Mexico. This list was prepared using multiple data sources to ensure its completeness. For this same reason, we are confident it is accurate.

If, however, a new pest of potatoes is detected in Mexico, APHIS will evaluate the pest to determine whether it is a quarantine pest, and whether it is likely to follow the pathway of potatoes from Mexico that are imported into the United States. If we determine that the pest is a quarantine pest and is likely to follow the pathway, we will take appropriate measures to prevent its introduction into the United States.

A commenter stated that, in assigning a medium or high risk potential to the eight pests present in Mexico that could be introduced into the United States through the importation of potatoes from Mexico, the PRA had implied that potatoes from Mexico are a unique pathway for these pests, and that no other commodities from Mexico that are currently authorized importation into the United States are also hosts of any of the pests. The commenter stated that this is not the case, and the PRA was therefore in error.

In assigning a medium or high risk potential to the pests, the PRA did not make such claims. Indeed, as we discuss later in this document, the PRA took into consideration that certain commodities already authorized importation into the United States from Mexico have similar pest lists.

The same commenter stated that, since we already authorize the importation of Mexican commodities that are hosts of the quarantine pests identified by the PRA, and importation of these commodities has yet to result in the introduction of the pests into the United States, the PRA should not have evaluated those pests.

--This is a summary of a Federal Register article originally published on the page number listed below--

Final rule.

CFR Part: "7 CFR Part 319"

RIN Number: "RIN 0579-AD78"

Citation: "79 FR 16651"

Document Number: "Docket No. APHIS-2013-0037"

Federal Register Page Number: "16651"

"Rules and Regulations"