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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 215 / Wednesday, November 10, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
actionable pests. Another commenter requested that fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand not be allowed into the State of Florida and other ports of entry south of the 39th parallel given that the climate in those areas is conducive to the establishment of the listed pests and the State of Floridas history of damaging incursions by invasive pests associated with the importation of foreign commodities.
We have determined, for the reasons described in the RMD that accompanied the proposed rule, that the measures specified in the RMD will effectively mitigate the risk associated with the importation of fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand. The commenters did not provide any evidence suggesting that the mitigations are not effective.
Therefore, we are not taking the action requested by the commenters.
The pest risk assessment identified 21
actionable pests that could be introduced into the United States in consignments of fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand. We provided a list of those pests in the proposed rule and its supporting documentation. One commenter said that the proposed rule did not mention invasive species, focusing only on actionable pests. The commenter argued that we should provide a full list of potentially invasive species associated with this action.
Another commenter argued that the pest risk assessment we prepared was too narrow in scope, and should take into account the potential adverse effects of actionable pests on all known and potential hosts of those pests.
The term actionable pest includes those species known to be invasive, but also includes a larger group of pests since a species does not have to be recognized as invasive in order to cause harm. Actionable pests include quarantine pests, regulated nonquarantine pests, pests considered for or under official control, and pests that require evaluation for regulatory action.
The wider scope described by the second commenter was therefore built into the pest risk assessment and RMD.
Actionable pests in this case are those known to be associated with fresh pummelo fruit and present in Thailand.
Fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand will be required to be treated with a minimum absorbed irradiation dose of 400 Gy in accordance with 305.9 of the phytosanitary treatment regulations in 7
CFR part 305. This is the established generic dose for all insect pests except pupae and adults of the order Lepidoptera. A commenter cited the presence of three Lepidopteran pests Citripestis sagittiferella Moore, Prays citri Milliere, and Prays endocarpa
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Meyrick in the list of actionable pests as an indication that the phytosanitary risk associated with the importation of fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand is too high.
The systems approach includes other phytosanitary procedures designed to provide protection from pests against which irradiation is not effective. In addition, irradiation in conjunction with other mitigations against Lepidopteran pests can provide phytosanitary protection since it is lethal to larvae, tends to prevent normal adult emergence from the pupal stage, and causes sterility in pupae and emerged adults.
Two commenters requested assurance that actionable pests will not be introduced into the United States in connection with the pallets used in the shipment of fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand or via transshipment through countries not included in the pest risk assessment and RMD.
Wood packaging material, including pallets, used for the importation of commodities is governed by the regulations in 7 CFR 319.403b, which stipulates treatment and marking. For the reasons explained in the proposed rule, the RMD, and this document, we consider the required provisions adequate to mitigate the risk associated with the importation of fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand. The commenters did not provide any evidence suggesting that the mitigations are individually or collectively ineffective. Failure to adhere to program standards, including packaging transshipped fruits, may result in removal from the export program.
One commenter observed that fresh pummelo fruit imported into Canada is currently not allowed to enter the United States for phytosanitary reasons and questioned the wisdom of allowing the fruit to directly enter the United States.
Each country determines its own importation requirements based on a number of factors, including factors particular to that country. While there may be some similarities in each countrys phytosanitary approach, the requirements are not always identical.
The requirements established by this document are countryand commodityspecific for the importation of fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand into the continental United States.
Comments on Trade and Economic Factors One commenter expressed concern that recent APHIS trade and policy efforts have tended to favor facilitating import access to the U.S. market.

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APHIS phytosanitary evaluation process only begins once a countrys NPPO has submitted a formal request for market access for a particular commodity. APHIS does not solicit such requests, nor do we control which countries submit requests. APHIS
primary responsibility with regard to international import trade is to identify and manage the phytosanitary risks associated with importing commodities.
When we determine that the risk associated with the importation of a commodity can be successfully mitigated, as is the case regarding the importation of fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand, it is our responsibility under the trade agreements to which we are a signatory, such as the World Trade Organizations Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures SPS
Agreement, to provide for the importation of that commodity.
Another commenter said that allowing for the importation of fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand may not produce a positive effect on the U.S.
economy or domestic producers. Two commenters stated that there is a sufficient domestically produced supply of fresh pummelo fruit to meet current market demand and hypothesized that the lower cost of imported fresh pummelo fruit would serve to harm domestic producers.
APHIS statutory authority allows us to 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. As a signatory to the SPS
Agreement, the United States has agreed to base its decisionmaking process on evaluation and mitigation of phytosanitary risk and not on the economic and trade factors referenced by the commenter. As we discuss later in this document, however, available data does not suggest that fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand will be imported at a lower cost than domestic production.
Two commenters objected to our requirement that the fresh pummelo fruit originate from commercial farms and stated that such a requirement would effectively exclude the majority of farmers in Thailand while encouraging the development of large scale, monoculture farms. One of the commenters cited a USDA requirement of $350,000 net income as the minimum amount needed for classification as a commercial farm.
We proposed to allow only commercial consignments of fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand to be
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