Notice2025-23603

WTO Agricultural Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger Levels

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
December 22, 2025

Issuing agencies

Agriculture DepartmentForeign Agricultural Service

Abstract

This notice lists the updated quantity-based trigger levels for products which may be subject to additional import duties under the safeguard provisions of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. This notice also includes the relevant period applicable for the trigger levels on each of the listed products.

Full Text

<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 243 (Monday, December 22, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 243 (Monday, December 22, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59789-59790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23603]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Foreign Agricultural Service


WTO Agricultural Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger Levels

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice of product coverage and trigger levels for safeguard 
measures provided for in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement 
on Agriculture.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice lists the updated quantity-based trigger levels 
for products which may be subject to additional import duties under the 
safeguard provisions of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. This notice 
also includes the relevant period applicable for the trigger levels on 
each of the listed products.

DATES: This notice is applicable on December 22, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Multilateral Affairs Division, Trade Policy and Geographic 
Affairs, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Stop 1070, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-1070.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: USDA Sugar Import Program, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b4d2d5c799c6d9d699c7c1d3d5c6c79ac7c1d3d5c6c7f4c1c7d0d59ad3dbc2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4b2d2a386639262966383e2c2a393865383e2c2a39380b3e382f2a652c243d">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Article 5 of the WTO Agreement on 
Agriculture provides that additional import duties may be imposed on 
imports of products subject to tariffication as a result of the Uruguay 
Round, if certain conditions are met. The agreement permits additional 
duties to be charged if the price of an individual shipment of imported 
products falls below the average price for similar goods imported 
during the years 1986-88 by a specified percentage. It also permits 
additional duties when the volume of imports of that product exceeds 
the sum of (1) a base trigger level multiplied by the average of the 
last three years of available import data and (2) the change in yearly 
consumption in the most recent year for which data are available 
(provided that the final trigger level is not less than 105 percent of 
the three-year import average). The base trigger level is set at 105, 
110, or 125 percent of the three-year import average, depending on the 
percentage of domestic consumption that is represented by imports. 
These additional duties may not be imposed on quantities for which 
minimum or current access commitments were made during the Uruguay 
Round negotiations, and only one type of safeguard, price or quantity, 
may be applied at any given time to an article.
    Section 405 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires that the 
President cause to be published in the Federal Register information 
regarding the price and quantity safeguards, including the quantity 
trigger levels, which must be updated annually based upon import levels 
during the most recent 3 years. The President delegated this duty to 
the Secretary of Agriculture in Presidential Proclamation No. 6763, 
dated December 23, 1994, 60 FR 1007 (Jan. 4, 1995). The Secretary of 
Agriculture further delegated this duty, which lies with the 
Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service (7 CFR 2.601(a)(42)). 
The Annex to this notice contains the updated quantity trigger levels, 
consistent with the provisions of Article 5.
    Additional information on the products subject to safeguards and 
the additional duties which may apply can be found in subchapter IV of 
Chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(2024) and in the Secretary of Agriculture's Notice of Uruguay Round 
Agricultural Safeguard Trigger Levels, published in the Federal 
Register at 60 FR 427 (Jan. 4, 1995).
    Notice: As provided in Section 405 of the Uruguay Round Agreements 
Act, consistent with Article 5 of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, the 
safeguard quantity trigger levels previously notified are superseded by 
the levels indicated in the Annex to this notice. The definitions of 
these products were provided in the Notice of Safeguard Action 
published in the Federal Register, at 60 FR 427 (Jan. 4, 1995).

Daniel B. Whitley,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.

[[Page 59790]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             2025 Quantity-based safeguard triggers
                    Product                    -----------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Trigger level       Unit                    Period
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beef..........................................         464,032              MT  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Mutton........................................           4,905              MT  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Cream.........................................      10,285,515          Liters  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Evaporated or Condensed Milk..................       6,907,453       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Nonfat Dry Milk...............................       3,202,067       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Dried Whole Milk..............................       4,886,578       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Dried Cream...................................          39,670       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Dried Whey/Buttermilk.........................         344,777       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Butter \1\....................................     132,434,067       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Butteroil.....................................      27,829,433       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Chocolate Crumb...............................      14,522,448       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Lowfat Chocolate Crumb........................       1,364,297       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Animal Feed Containing Milk...................         211,900       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Ice Cream.....................................      18,640,174          Liters  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Dairy Mixtures................................      31,747,336       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Infant Formula Containing Oligosaccharides....      22,341,531       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Blue Cheese...................................       3,620,925       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Cheddar Cheese................................      14,245,546       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
American-Type Cheese..........................          88,740       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Edam/Gouda Cheese.............................      11,481,510       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Italian-Type Cheese...........................      26,878,158       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Swiss or Emmenthaler Cheese...................      20,007,112       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Gruyere Process Cheese........................       4,198,233       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Cheese and Substitutes for Cheese.............      49,232,245       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Lowfat Cheese.................................          84,369       Kilograms  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Peanut Butter/Paste...........................           4,094              MT  Jan 1, 2025-Dec 31, 2025.
Peanuts \1\...................................            9514              MT  April 1, 2024-Mar 31, 2025.
                                                        12,631              MT  April 1, 2025-Mar 31, 2026.
Raw Cane Sugar \1\............................         754,409              MT  Oct 1, 2024-Sep 30, 2025.
                                                     1,019,296              MT  Oct 1, 2025-Sep 30, 2026.
Refined Sugars and Syrups \1\.................         312,628              MT  Oct 1, 2024-Sep 30, 2025.
                                                       266,995              MT  Oct 1, 2025-Sep 30, 2026.
Articles over 65% Sugar.......................           1,252              MT  Oct 1, 2024-Sep 30, 2025.
                                                         1,894              MT  Oct 1, 2025-Sep 30, 2026.
Articles over 10% Sugar.......................          25,719              MT  Oct 1, 2024-Sep 30, 2025.
                                                        32,542              MT  Oct 1, 2025-Sep 30, 2026.
Blended Syrups................................             758              MT  Oct 1, 2024-Sep 30, 2025.
                                                         1,158              MT  Oct 1, 2025-Sep 30, 2026.
Sweetened Cocoa Powder........................             578              MT  Oct 1, 2024-Sep 30, 2025.
                                                           762              MT  Oct 1, 2025-Sep 30, 2026.
Mixes and Doughs..............................           3,943              MT  Oct 1, 2024-Sep 30, 2025.
                                                           896              MT  Oct 1, 2025-Sep 30, 2026.
Mixed Condiments and Seasonings...............             786              MT  Oct 1, 2024-Sep 30, 2025.
                                                           684              MT  Oct 1, 2025-Sep 30, 2026.
Short Staple Cotton \2\.......................           9,964       Kilograms  Sep 20, 2024-Sep 19, 2025.
                                                         2,794       Kilograms  Sep 20, 2025-Sep 19, 2026.
Harsh or Rough Cotton.........................               6       Kilograms  Aug 1, 2024-July 31, 2025.
                                                            17       Kilograms  Aug 1, 2025-July 31, 2026.
Extra Long Staple Cotton......................         621,260       Kilograms  Aug 1, 2024-July 31, 2025.
                                                       475,007       Kilograms  Aug 1, 2025-July 31, 2026.
Medium Staple Cotton..........................             741       Kilograms  Aug 1, 2024-July 31, 2025.
                                                        86,407       Kilograms  Aug 1, 2025-July 31, 2026.
Cotton Waste \2\..............................         788,489       Kilograms  Sep 20, 2024-Sep 19, 2025.
                                                       356,865       Kilograms  Sep 20, 2025-Sep 19, 2026.
Cotton Processed but not Spun \2\.............          18,803       Kilograms  Sep 20, 2024-Sep 19, 2025.
                                                        21,309       Kilograms  Sep 20, 2025-Sep 19, 2026.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Includes change in consumption.
\2\ 12-month period from September to September.

[FR Doc. 2025-23603 Filed 12-19-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-10-P


</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>
Indexed from Federal Register on December 22, 2025.

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.