The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is withdrawing a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on March 16, 2016, regarding the Beef Promotion and Research Order established under the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985.
This proposed rule would amend the Beef Promotion and Research Order to increase assessment levels for imported veal and veal products based on revised determinations of live animal equivalencies. The proposed rule would also update and expand the Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) numbers and categories, which identify imported veal and veal products to conform with updates in the numbers and categories used by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The proposed rule is being withdrawn because of an error in the imported veal carcass weight, and because the calculation used to establish the assessment rate on importer veal and veal products was not included.
In the near future, AMS intends to publish another proposed rule with the correct carcass weight and an explanation on how the calculations for the new assessment rates were calculated.
For additional information, contact Mike Dinkel, Agricultural Marketing Specialist, Research and Promotion Division, Livestock, Poultry, and Seed Program, AMS, USDA, Room 2610-S, STOP 0249, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20249-0251; or by phone at (301) 532-7497.