bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - USDA Restricts Bonsai Import

Quote:

Comment: Does APHIS have sufficient resources to ensure that imported plants are grown under the conditions specified in the proposed rule? The proposed rule puts an extreme reliance on the infrastructure of foreign regulatory agencies. Many countries simply do not have the infrastructure or resources to provide the kind of regulatory oversight that was envisioned by the proposed rule.
Response: This rule requires the plant protection organization of the exporting country to certify on the phytosanitary certificate accompanying plants imported into the United States that imported artificially dwarfed plants have been grown and inspected according to APHIS requirements. When plants are presented for importation into the United States, we verify that the phytosanitary certificate accompanying the plants contains all the required declarations.
The certification requirements contained in the regulations are in addition to our port of entry inspections, not in lieu of them. Because the United States is a signatory party of international agreements such as the World Trade Organization Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the International Plant Protection Convention, we are obligated to consider foreign certifications as equivalent to our own unless there are documented reasons to consider them otherwise. Under these circumstances, APHIS believes that the proposed requirements will provide adequate protection against the introduction of plant pests into the United States.

One commenter requested additional plant quarantine action to control the spread of Phythophthora ramorum, the fungus that causes what has commonly been referred to as Sudden Oak Death. This matter is outside the scope of this rulemaking action, but we have restricted the interstate movement of Sudden Oak Death host articles in an interim rule published in the Federal Register on February 14, 2002 (67 FR 6827-6837, Docket No. 01-054-1), and intend to address the importation of Sudden Oak Death host articles from foreign countries in an upcoming rulemaking.
Finally, we have made several nonsubstantive editorial changes for the sake of clarity.
Therefore, for the reasons given in the proposed rule and in this document, we are adopting the proposed rule as a final rule, with the changes discussed in this document.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. The rule has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.
In this document, we are amending the regulations for importing plants and plant products by requiring artificially dwarfed plants that are imported into the United States to have been grown under certain conditions in greenhouses or screenhouses within nurseries registered with the government of the country where the plants were grown. This action is necessary to protect against the introduction of longhorned beetles into the United States.

The requirements of this rule are intended to prevent the introduction of longhorned beetles into the United States. A recent APHIS study on the importation of solid wood packing material from China has shown that production losses resulting from a widespread Asian longhorned beetle infestation in the United States could total in excess of $27.4 billion.

The art of miniature (or artificially dwarfed) plant gardening is a recent phenomenon in the United States. Because it is a highly time consuming and very labor intensive activity, it is practiced by a relatively small number of U.S. nurseries and households. The size of these artificially dwarfed plants range from 4 inches to 60 inches in height, with prices ranging from $10 to more than $10,000. The median price of an artificially dwarfed plant is close to $100, and its value increases with age, regardless of size.
Plants that have been imported from Asia represent approximately 80 percent of the value of the entire artificially dwarfed plant market. Such imports come predominantly from Japan, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea. The remaining 20 percent of value corresponds to plants that have been domestically produced. With respect to volume, 20 percent of the artificially dwarfed plants available in the U.S. market are imported from Asia, and the rest are domestically produced. Domestically produced artificially dwarfed plants are the smallest, simplest, and most inexpensive ones. Plants produced in and imported from Asian countries are the largest, most elaborate, and most expensive.

In 1997, the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, DC, surveyed U.S. nurseries that sell artificially dwarfed plants, as well as other businesses related to the growing of artificially dwarfed plants. A summary of the results of the survey was published in the American Nurseryman Magazine in April 1999. According to that survey, in 1997, there were at least 366 artificially dwarfed plant-related businesses in the United States. Based on that survey, artificially dwarfed plant businesses can be divided into two categories: Full-service nurseries and specialty companies focusing on one product.

Full-service nurseries may carry a wide range of artificially dwarfed plants in varying sizes, including some that they have developed themselves and others they have purchased or have mported from Asia. Many of these businesses also sell pots for these plants, as well as related tools and books. On the other hand, specialty companies may produce one product, such as plants, pots, or tools, or may be limited to teaching or publishing.
The survey identified 97 full service artificially dwarfed plant
nurseries (see table below). These entities ranged from relatively
small family owned and operated enterprises to a few large companies.

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Type of company........................................... Number of companies
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full service artificially dwarfed plant nurseries.......... 97
Specialty artificially dwarfed plant related companies:
Plants (including seeds)................................. 82
Tools, supplies, stands.................................. 81
Containers and pots...................................... 46
Magazines, books, and newsletters........................ 32
Consultants and teachers................................. 28
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Total............................................. ..... 366
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The 1997 survey found that artificially dwarfed plant-related businesses were fairly well distributed throughout the United States. However, the largest concentrations were in the Southeast (107) and the Southwest (102), including California. The Northeast had 84 artificially dwarfed plant-related businesses. The Midwest had 37 related businesses, and the Northwest had 26.

Effect on Small Entities

According to Small Business Administration (SBA) guidelines, a small business involved in the sale or importation of artificially dwarfed plants or related products is one having less than $6 million of annual receipts from sales (see NAICS codes 444220, ``Nursery and Garden Centers,'' and 453110, ``Florists'').

There are between 20 to 50 importers of artificially dwarfed plants in the United States, with the number varying each year. However, on average, this number is closer to 20. All of them can be considered small entities according to the SBA definition. We do not expect that this final rule will significantly affect the price of imported artificially dwarfed plants or have a significant effect on importers of artificially dwarfed plants.

Most of the businesses engaged in the production and distribution of artificially dwarfed plants and related materials are family owned and operated. Approximately 99 percent of these firms are considered small according to SBA criteria. There is no reason to believe that these entities would be significantly affected by implementation of this rule because the price of imported artificially dwarfed plants is not expected to change significantly.

The requirements that imported artificially dwarfed plants be grown in greenhouses or screenhouses in registered nurseries--and not collected from open fields--could affect the number of artificially dwarfed plants imported during the short term. Plants imported from Asia are predominantly higher valued and nursery-grown, and comprise only 20 percent of U.S. sales by quantity, but 80 percent of sales by value. This rule will not likely have a significant effect on the number of higher-valued plants imported from Asia. However, since artificially dwarfed plants that are not grown in accordance with the conditions in this rule are prohibited importation into the United States, it is possible that some U.S. producers could benefit from decreased competition. Nevertheless, the effect of this final rule on those nurseries is expected to be insignificant, given the small number of affected imports.

Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

(cont'd)