Cattle Imported In Bond for Feeding and Return to Mexico

We are adopting as a final rule, with one change, an interim rule that amended the animal exportation and importation regulations by removing provisions that allowed the temporary, in-bond importation of cattle from Mexico into the United States for feeding and return to Mexico for slaughter. That interim rule was necessary because the U.S. Customs Service, to comply with provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement, had discontinued its collection of duties and cash bonds on cattle imported into the United States from Mexico; without a cash bond, we were unable to meaningfully penalize importers who failed to return those cattle to Mexico. We continue to believe that the termination of the in-bond program was necessary to prevent the dissemination of animal diseases into the United States by in-bond cattle that may have remained in the United States in violation of the regulations.