Rule2025-09553
Tobacco Grading and Inspections Services-Rescission of Obsolete Import Grading and Pesticide Testing Provisions
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 28, 2025
Effective
July 28, 2025
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentAgricultural Marketing Service
Abstract
This direct final rule amends regulations that govern the mandatory inspection and pesticide testing for imported tobacco established under The Tobacco Adjustment Act of 1983. The Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004 eliminated mandatory inspection and pesticide testing for imported tobacco. In alignment with Executive Order 14192, AMS is amending and, where appropriate, removing regulations that have expired authorizing statutes or govern non- operational programs.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 101 (Wednesday, May 28, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 28, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 22441-22442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-09553]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 101 / Wednesday, May 28, 2025 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 22441]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 29
[Doc. No. AMS-CN-25-0024]
RIN 0581-AE42
Tobacco Grading and Inspections Services--Rescission of Obsolete
Import Grading and Pesticide Testing Provisions
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Department of Agriculture
(USDA)
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: This direct final rule amends regulations that govern the
mandatory inspection and pesticide testing for imported tobacco
established under The Tobacco Adjustment Act of 1983. The Fair and
Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004 eliminated mandatory inspection
and pesticide testing for imported tobacco. In alignment with Executive
Order 14192, AMS is amending and, where appropriate, removing
regulations that have expired authorizing statutes or govern non-
operational programs.
DATES: This direct final rule is effective July 28, 2025, without
further action or notice, unless a significant adverse comment is
received by June 27, 2025. If a significant adverse comment is
received, AMS will publish in the Federal Register a withdrawal of this
direct final rule prior to the effective date.
ADDRESSES: Comments can be submitted electronically at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> searching by the docket number listed above.
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments concerning
this direct final rule. Comments may also be submitted by mail or hand
delivery to USDA AMS Cotton and Tobacco Program, 3275 Appling Road,
Memphis, TN 38133. All comments should reference the docket number and
the date and page number of this issue of the Federal Register. All
comments submitted in response to this direct final rule will be
included in the record and will be made available to the public at:
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Public comments are posted without change.
Any identifying information submitted with these comments will also be
publicly available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angie Snyder, Deputy Administrator,
USDA AMS-Cotton and Tobacco Program, 3275 Appling Road, Memphis, TN
38133; Telephone: (901) 384-3000; Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6a0b040d030f441904130e0f182a1f190e0b440d051c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="40212e2729256e332e3924253200353324216e272f36">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: AMS's regulations in 7 CFR part 29 implement
section 213 of The Tobacco Adjustment Act of 1983 (Pub. L. 98-180; 7
U.S.C. 511r), which required that, prior to entry into the United
States, all imported tobacco be inspected for grade and quality and
that all imported flue-cured and burley tobacco be sampled and tested
to determine if it conforms with the pesticide residue requirements.
The Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004 (sec. 611(b), Public
Law 108-357, 118 Stat. 1522; Oct. 22, 2004) repealed 7 U.S.C. 511r,
eliminating mandatory inspection/grading and pesticide testing of
imported tobacco. Federal inspection/grading and pesticide testing of
imported tobacco has continued to be provided upon request. Upon
reviewing these regulations in light of changes to the law and in
alignment with Executive Order 14192, AMS has determined that
regulations in 7 CFR part 29 pertaining to the mandatory inspection/
grading and pesticide testing of imported tobacco should be removed
and, where appropriate, amended.
AMS is amending Sec. 29.400 by revising paragraph (a) and removing
paragraph (b) to reflect the change from mandatory to permissive
inspection and pesticide testing of imported tobacco. Definitions in
Sec. 29.401 paragraphs (m), (o), (t), and (v) are related to obsolete
business practices and, therefore, are removed. Furthermore, Sec.
29.402 is being amended to reflect how the protocol for requesting
inspection and pesticide testing services for imported tobacco have
changed since mandatory inspection and pesticide testing of imported
tobacco was eliminated.
AMS is removing Sec. Sec. 29.406 and 407, 29.425, 29.429 and
29.431, which specify how import inspection certificates issued under
mandatory inspection and pesticide testing were to be managed. AMS is
amending Sec. 29.426 to account for obsolete business practices
related to mandatory inspection and pesticide testing of imported
tobacco.
Lastly, AMS is making conforming amendments to Sec. Sec. 29.430
and 29.500 for clarifying the appeal process for test results for
imported tobacco and updating how user fees and charges are to be
determined, respectively.
The inspection/grading and pesticide testing of imported tobacco
are user-fee based services, which are services paid for by the
industry through fees. Fee rates for these services are set such that
all costs associated with these services are covered by revenues
generated from providing these services. While permissive inspection/
grading and pesticide testing of imported tobacco continue to be
offered, AMS has not provided services related to the mandatory
inspection/grading and pesticide testing of imported tobacco in twenty
years. Therefore, costs or benefits associated with AMS's regulations
governing mandatory inspection/grading and pesticide testing of
imported tobacco are unknown. To the extent there is any uncertainty
about the costs and benefits of these regulations, it is the policy of
USDA to err on the side of deregulation and focus resources on fairly
and rationally enforcing a discrete and manageable number of
regulations.
Section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5
U.S.C. 551 et seq.) authorizes agencies to dispense with prior notice
and comment for rules when the agency for ``good cause'' finds that
those procedures are ``impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the
public interest.'' Under this section, an agency, upon finding good
cause, may issue a direct final rule without first publishing a
proposed rule. Removing regulations pertaining to mandatory inspection/
grading and pesticide testing of imported tobacco and making conforming
amendments will provide transparency and may reduce confusion for
tobacco producers and other stakeholders. Further, AMS views this
action as noncontroversial and anticipates no adverse public comment.
This rule will become effective, as
[[Page 22442]]
published in this document, July 28, 2025 without further action,
unless adverse comments are received on or before June 27, 2025.
Adverse comments are considered to be those comments that suggest the
rule should not be adopted or suggest the rule should be changed.
If AMS receives adverse comments, a document will be published in
the Federal Register, withdrawing this rule before the effective date.
AMS will then publish a proposed rule for public comment. Following the
close of that comment period, the comments will be considered, and a
final rule will be published.
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), AMS
certifies that this direct final rule will not, if issued, have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
AMS has not provided services related to the mandatory inspection/
grading and pesticide testing of imported tobacco in twenty years. The
amendments made by the direct final rule will merely conform the CFR
with AMS' current operating practices. This 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
(OMB). There are no current information collections associated with the
regulations related to the mandatory inspection/grading and pesticide
testing of imported tobacco.
USDA has determined that there is no reliance interest in obsolete
aspects of regulations. Moreover, regardless of the lawfulness, USDA
has no interest in maintaining regulations that have expired
authorizing statutes or govern non-operational programs. Maintaining
regulations pertaining to the obsolete regulations related to mandatory
inspection/grading and pesticide testing of imported tobacco program in
7 CFR part 29 are not a priority. Therefore, AMS is removing and, where
appropriate, amending the regulations in 7 CFR part 29 to eliminate
references and provisions pertaining to mandatory inspection/grading
and pesticide testing of imported tobacco.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 29
Administrative practice and procedure, Advisory committees,
Government publications, Imports, Pesticides and pests, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Tobacco.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, AMS amends 7 CFR part 29
as follows:
PART 29--TOBACCO INSPECTION
0
1. The authority citation for part 29 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 511-511s.
0
2. Revise Sec. 29.400 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.400 Inspection, certification, and testing of imported
tobacco.
Tobacco offered for importation into the United States, including
tobacco entering foreign trade zones shall upon request be inspected
for grade and/or pesticide testing.
Sec. 29.401 [Amended]
0
3. Remove and reserve paragraphs (m), (o), (t) and (v).
0
4. Revise Sec. 29.402 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.402 Advance notice.
The importer shall notify, orally or in writing, the Director, of
the date and location that tobacco subject to inspection under Sec.
29.400 will be unloaded for warehousing, manipulation, or
manufacturing. This notice shall be received at least five working days
prior to unloading the tobacco for warehousing, manipulation, or
manufacturing.
Sec. Sec. 29.406, 29.407 and 29.425 [Removed]
0
5. Remove Sec. Sec. 29.406, 29.407 and 29.425.
0
6. Revise Sec. 29.426 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.426 Collection of pesticide test samples.
Any lot of tobacco not certified by the importer as being free of
prohibited pesticide residues shall upon request be sampled in
sufficient detail to determine whether the lot conforms with the
pesticide residue standards.
Sec. 29.429 [Removed]
0
7. Remove Sec. 29.429.
0
8. Amend Sec. 29.430 by revising the first sentence to read as
follows:
Sec. 29.430 Appeals.
Requests for resampling for the purpose of appeals of test results
for imported tobacco must be communicated to the Director within 30
days from the receipt of notification. * * *
Sec. 29.431 [Removed]
0
9. Remove Sec. 29.431.
0
10. Revise Sec. 29.500 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.500 Fees and charges for inspection and acceptance of
imported tobacco.
The fee for inspection of imported tobacco will be determined as
described in Sec. 29.123 and shall be paid by the importer.
Bruce Summers,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-09553 Filed 5-27-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
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