HR 1913 IH

To authorize registration of Canadian pesticides for agricultural crops.

To authorize registration of Canadian pesticides for agricultural crops.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Pesticide Registration Harmonization Act of 1999'.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO HARMONIZATION OF REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN PESTICIDES FOR USE ON AGRICULTURAL CROPS.

(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS- It is the sense of Congress that the President should direct the United States representative to the United States-Canada Technical Working Group (hereafter referred to as `TWG') to use the voice and vote of the United States to urge the TWG to make the harmonization of registration of pesticides described in subsection (b) the highest priority.

(b) PESTICIDE DEFINED- For purposes of this Act, a pesticide is a crop protection product which is registered in Canada for use on agricultural crops and which is not registered in the United States for use on such crops but is registered in the United States for other food use crops.

SEC. 3. ACCEPTANCE OF REGISTRATION FOR CERTAIN PESTICIDES.

(a) ACCEPTANCE OF REGISTRATION- Within 180 days of receiving a written request from the registrant of a pesticide in Canada, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (hereafter referred to as the `Administrator') shall accept registration of the pesticide for use in the United States on the same crops as it is registered for in Canada unless the Administrator determines that substantial evidence exists to preclude United States acceptance of the registration.

(b) ACCEPTANCE REQUIREMENT- To be eligible for acceptance of a pesticide under subsection (a), the registrant shall submit with its request--

(1) copies of all the data and other registration materials submitted to and approved by the Pesticide Management and Registration Agency of Canada; and

(2) an estimate of the expected use of the pesticide on the crops subject to acceptance and an explanation of how total use of the pesticide on all crops will be made to conform with the applicable requirements of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.

(c) PRIORITIES- In deciding whether to accept a registration, the Administrator shall take into account the priority of harmonizing registrations of pesticides between the United States and Canada, as established in the Canada-United States Trade Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement. A request submitted under this section for pesticide registration shall not be counted against any other priority submitted by a registrant.

(d) DENIAL- In the event registration of a pesticide is denied, the Administrator shall publicly identify the reasons and causes for the denial.

SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Act, and every year thereafter, the United States representative to the TWG shall report to appropriate committees of Congress on the status of TWG efforts to harmonize registrations of pesticides for use on agricultural crops in the United States and Canada.