The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) issued a direct final rule to amend the Beef Promotion and Research Order (Beef Order) under the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985.
The direct final rule amends section 1260.172(b) of the Beef Order to update the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes for imported cattle, beef, veal and beef products. The updated codes ensure conformance with recent updates by the U.S. International Trade Commission and are used by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to assist in the collection of beef checkoff assessments from importers.
The direct final rule was published in the Federal Register on Jan. 8, 2020, with an effective date of Feb. 7, 2020. The public can provide comments on the direct final rule until Jan. 23, 2020, at www.Regulations.gov.
For more information contact Kahl Sesker, Agricultural Marketing Specialist, Research and Promotion Division, Livestock and Poultry Program, AMS, USDA, Room 2610-S, STOP 0251, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20249-0251.
The Beef Order governs the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board. Since 1966, Congress has authorized industry-funded research and promotion boards to provide a framework for agricultural industries to pool resources and combine efforts to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets and conduct important research and promotion activities. The Agricultural Marketing Service provides oversight to 21 boards. The oversight ensures fiscal accountability and program integrity, and is paid for by industry assessments.
