Notice2026-04206
Notice of Proposed Revision to Requirements for the Importation of Pineapples From Taiwan Into the United States
Primary source
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Published
March 3, 2026
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Abstract
We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest risk assessment (PRA) and a risk management document (RMD) relative to the importation into the United States of fresh pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.) fruit from Taiwan. Currently, fresh pineapple fruit from Taiwan must be at least 50 percent Smooth Cayenne by lineage in order to be authorized importation into the United States, and may only be imported into Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, among other import conditions. However, the national plant protection organization (NPPO) of Taiwan has asked APHIS for expanded authorization to import any variety of fresh pineapple fruit into any State or Territory of the United States. Based on the NPPO's request, APHIS has prepared a PRA that evaluates the plant pest and noxious weed risk associated with the importation of fresh pineapple fruit from Taiwan into the United States, and an RMD that proposes mitigations to address these risks. We are making the PRA and RMD available to the public for review and comment.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 41 (Tuesday, March 3, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 3, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10364-10365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-04206]
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Notices
Federal Register
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or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 41 / Tuesday, March 3, 2026 /
Notices
[[Page 10364]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2025-0637]
Notice of Proposed Revision to Requirements for the Importation
of Pineapples From Taiwan Into the United States
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest risk
assessment (PRA) and a risk management document (RMD) relative to the
importation into the United States of fresh pineapple (Ananas comosus
(L.) Merr.) fruit from Taiwan. Currently, fresh pineapple fruit from
Taiwan must be at least 50 percent Smooth Cayenne by lineage in order
to be authorized importation into the United States, and may only be
imported into Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
among other import conditions. However, the national plant protection
organization (NPPO) of Taiwan has asked APHIS for expanded
authorization to import any variety of fresh pineapple fruit into any
State or Territory of the United States. Based on the NPPO's request,
APHIS has prepared a PRA that evaluates the plant pest and noxious weed
risk associated with the importation of fresh pineapple fruit from
Taiwan into the United States, and an RMD that proposes mitigations to
address these risks. We are making the PRA and RMD available to the
public for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before May
4, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
Enter APHIS-2025-0637 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab,
then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
<bullet> Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2025-0637, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, APHIS, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., #AP760, Beltsville, MD 20705.
Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may
be viewed at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> or in our reading room, which is
located in room 1620 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure
someone is there to help you, please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Gina Stiltner, Senior Regulatory
Policy Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, PPQ, APHIS,
1400 Independence SW, Washington, DC 20250; (518) 760-2468.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the regulations in ``Subpart L-Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR
319.56-1 through 319.56-12, referred to below as the regulations), the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) prohibits or
restricts the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United
States from certain parts of the world to prevent plant pests from
being introduced into or disseminated within the United States.
Section 319.56-4 of the regulations provides the requirements for
authorizing the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United
States, as well as revising existing requirements for the importation
of fruits and vegetables. Paragraph (c) of that section provides that
the name and origin of all fruits and vegetables authorized importation
into the United States, as well as the requirements for their
importation, are listed on the internet at <a href="https://acir.aphis.usda.gov/s/">https://acir.aphis.usda.gov/s/</a>; this address provides access to the Agricultural Commodity Import
Requirements database, or ACIR. It also provides that, if the
Administrator of APHIS determines that any of the phytosanitary
measures required for the importation of a particular fruit or
vegetable are no longer necessary to reasonably mitigate the plant pest
risk posed by the fruit or vegetable, APHIS will publish a notice in
the Federal Register making its pest risk documentation and
determination available for public comment.
Fresh pineapple fruit from Taiwan is currently listed in ACIR as
authorized for importation into the United States. Currently, the fresh
pineapple fruit from Taiwan must be at least 50 percent Smooth Cayenne
by lineage in order to be authorized importation into the United
States, and may only be imported into Guam or the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, among other conditions.
When a change is being sought to the conditions governing the
importation of a fruit or vegetable that is already authorized for
importation into the United States, the national plant protection
organization (NPPO) of the relevant exporting country must submit
information in support of the requested change to APHIS in accordance
with the regulations in Sec. 319.5 of
7 CFR. The regulations in this section specify the form that the
request must take, as well as the necessary documentation in order for
APHIS to consider it complete and evaluate it.
Pursuant to the regulations in Sec. 319.5, the NPPO of Taiwan
submitted a request that asked APHIS for expanded authorization to
import any variety of fresh pineapple fruit into any port of the United
States.
In response to this request, APHIS has prepared a pest risk
assessment (PRA) that evaluates the plant pest and noxious weed risk
associated with the importation of fresh pineapple from Taiwan into the
United States, as well as a risk management document (RMD) that
proposes mitigations to address these risks.
Therefore, in accordance with Sec. 319.56-4(c), we are announcing
the availability of our PRA and RMD for public review and comment.
Those documents, as well as a description of the economic
considerations associated with revising the conditions for the
importation of fresh pineapple fruit from Taiwan, may be viewed on the
<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> website or in our reading room (see ADDRESSES above for
a link to <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> and information on the location and hours of
the reading room). You may request
[[Page 10365]]
paper copies of the PRA and RMD by calling or writing to the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the
subject of the analysis you wish to review when requesting copies.
After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our
decision regarding whether to revise the requirements for the
importation of fresh pineapple fruit from Taiwan in a subsequent
notice. If the overall conclusions of our analysis and the
Administrator's determination of risk remain unchanged following our
consideration of the comments, then we will revise the requirements for
the importation of fresh pineapple fruit from Taiwan as specified in
the RMD.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1633, 7701-7772, and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C. 136
and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Done in Washington, DC, this 25th day of February 2026.
Kelly Moore,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-04206 Filed 3-2-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
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