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The most common foreign sources of imported wood that are under consideration by 

 U.S. importers are Chile and New Zealand. Given these relatively discrete locations and 

 products, AF&PA agrees with the objectives as outlined in the Federal Register notice 

 including specific importation and entry requirements for particular article-origin 

 combinations. These proposed requirements would allow importation under less restrictive 

 conditions than the proposed universal importation requirements. 



In addition to the universal importation requirements and less restrictive conditions for 

 discrete locations, AF&PA supports APHIS's efforts to establish procedures for case-by-case 

 evaluations of whether to allow unmanufactured wood under conditions other than those 

 specified. The importer could then expect a decision on the permit in a reasonable amount of 

 time without unnecessary notice-and-comment for every new and different product that might 

 be imported. This could be accomplished through case-by-case risk assessments. These 

 objectives would allow both APHIS and importers the maximum flexibility to operate in the 

 coming years. 



4. APHIS Should Address EPA's Proposed Regulation to Phase-out the Use of Methyl 

 Bromide and the Limited Availability of Substitutes. 



Of the few available treatment methods mentioned by APHIS, the forest industry is 

 concerned that methyl bromide may not be available beyond the year 2001. EPA has 

 proposed to remove methyl bromide from the market due to concerns over its ozone depletion 



