APHIS Should Scrap Rulemaking on Wood Packaging Exemption, Say U.S., Canadian Trade Groups

The Animal and Plant Health Information Service would disrupt important trade relationships between the U.S. and Canada if the agency continues forward with a rulemaking to cut out exemptions to wood packaging requirements, said U.S. and Canadian trade groups in an April 1 letter (here). The 38 groups asked that APHIS "terminate the current rulemaking process and actively engage with stakeholders" to consider whether the rulemaking is the best course to address invasive species problems. The regulatory change in question would subject wood packaging materials made from Canadian wood to the same ISPM-15 treatment and marking requirements currently applicable to all other countries.

The Agriculture Department first proposed the change in 2010 (see 10120215), but there's been little movement since then. "This is not a new battle, but it has taken on new urgency in recent months," said Ryan Ong, the director for international business policy at the National Association of Manufacturers, in a blog post (here). Despite pushback from industry on the proposal, APHIS pushed to include the issue on the regulatory agenda of the U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council (see 1505290023), said Ong. The council is scheduled to meet May 4-5 in Washington, he said.

The wood packaging rule "does not currently have a publication date but could be in the final review stages," said an APHIS spokeswoman. The rulemaking process is thorough and complex, requiring "multiple layers of review and scrutiny," she said. "APHIS typically consults with stakeholders and foreign governments during the process to ensure parity." The agency is working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and industry "to develop the least intrusive manner of implementation," she said. "We want to leverage current practices into procedures that will mitigate the risk for both our countries. We appreciate the concerns listed and will continue to work on addressing them as we move forward; both now and in the future."

The agency should reconsider its proposal "given the substantial and widespread concerns regarding the proposed rule and its expected negative impact on the U.S.-Canada trading relationship," the groups said. The two countries should also work through "bilateral channels such as the U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council in order to develop a common approach to a problem that arises outside both our borders that will not impede trade and the growth it helps promote," said the groups. The groups, which include the National Retail Federation, the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association and Canadian American Business Council, sent the letter to the Edward Avalos, USDA under secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, and Howard Shelanski, administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

The proposal is largely a response to a 2009 pest risk analysis on the effect of wood packaging and pest movement, said the letter. But none of the pests identified in the study are indigenous to the U.S. or Canada and removal of the exemption wouldn't solve the pest problems, said the groups. "Instead, U.S. enforcement resources should be focused on the perimeter of North America, and not the U.S.-Canada border, to prevent the entry of pests that do not originate on the continent," the letter said. The rulemaking also mistakenly relies on a now outdated cost-benefit analysis from 2010. APHIS hasn't updated the analysis "to address the updated costs of this rule, leaving them unable to answer legitimate questions about the operational cost of the rule and whether it qualifies as a significant rulemaking process," said the groups.