Solid Wood Packing Material From China

Background

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) imposes requirements on the importation of logs, lumber, and other unmanufactured wood articles to prevent the introduction into the United States of dangerous plant pests, including forest pests. On September 18, 1998, we published in the Federal Register (63 FR 50100-50111, Docket No. 98-087-1) an interim rule that amends the regulations by imposing certain requirements on imported solid wood packing material (SWPM) from China, in order to prevent the introduction and establishment of the Asian longhorned beetle and other dangerous plant pests associated with SWPM from China. Under that rule (referred to below as the interim rule), if a commercial shipment from China contains SWPM, then prior to departure from China the SWPM must be heat treated, fumigated, or treated with preservatives, and must be accompanied by a certificate signed by an official of a Chinese government agency that documents the treatment of the SWPM. Commercial shipments from China that do not contain any SWPM must include an exporter statement on or attached to the commercial invoice and as an attachment to the bill of lading stating that the shipment contains no SWPM. Since the publication date of the interim rule, APHIS has received inquiries concerning the status of shipments from China to the United States that depart China prior to the effective date of the interim rule, but arrive in the United States after the effective date of the interim rule. The interim rule requires certain actions to occur prior to the departure of shipments from China, i.e., treatment of SWPM, issuance of certificates to accompany the SWPM, and preparation of exporter statements to accompany shipments that do not contain any SWPM. It was not our intention to impose any requirements on shipments that depart China prior to the effective date of the interim rule. Importers, exporters, national governments, and others will need until December 17, 1998, to prepare for the significant changes in operations that will become necessary. Therefore, any shipment that departs China prior to December 17, 1998, is not subject to the requirements of the interim rule. However, we wish to be very clear that a shipment will be subject to the interim rule if it departs one port in China prior to December 17, but subsequently enters and then departs after December 17 another port in China prior to its arrival in the United States. For example, a shipment that departs Shanghai on December 16 for Hong Kong, where the cargo remains on the vessel, is warehoused, or is moved to another vessel, and then departs for the United States on December 20, would be subject to the requirements of the interim rule. In other words, for commercial shipments moved from China to the United States, it is the date of last departure from China that determines whether the shipment is subject to the requirements of the interim rule. If that date is on or after the effective date of the interim rule (December 17, 1998), then the shipment is subject to the requirements of the interim rule.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 151-167, 450, 2260, 2803, and 2809; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 49 U.S.C. 1741; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).

Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of October 1998. Joan M. Arnoldi, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 98-28603 Filed 10-21-98; 1:29 pm] BILLING CODE 3410-34-P