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Title 7 — AgricultureRelease 119-73

§1638b Enforcement

Title 7 › Chapter CHAPTER 38— - DISTRIBUTION AND MARKETING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV— - COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING › § 1638b

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must tell a retailer or a supplier if they are breaking the rule in section 1638a and must give them a 30-day period, starting the day they get the notice, to try to fix the problem and follow the rule. If, after those 30 days, the Secretary finds the retailer or supplier did not make a real effort to comply and is still knowingly breaking the same rule about the issue they were warned about, the Secretary will record that finding.

Full Legal Text

Title 7, §1638b

Agriculture — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)If the Secretary determines that a retailer or person engaged in the business of supplying a covered commodity to a retailer is in violation of section 1638a of this title, the Secretary shall—
(1)notify the retailer 11 So in original. Probably should be “retailer or person”. of the determination of the Secretary; and
(2)provide the retailer 1 a 30-day period, beginning on the date on which the retailer 1 receives the notice under paragraph (1) from the Secretary, during which the retailer 1 may take necessary steps to comply with section 1638a of this title.
(b)If, on completion of the 30-day period described in subsection (a)(2), the Secretary determines that the retailer or person engaged in the business of supplying a covered commodity to a retailer has—
(1)not made a good faith effort to comply with section 1638a of this title, and
(2)continues to willfully violate section 1638a of this title with respect to the violation about which the retailer or person received notification under subsection (a)(1),

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 made identical

Amendments

to this section. The

Amendments

by Pub. L. 110–234 were repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246.

Amendments

2008—Pub. L. 110–246, § 11002(3), redesignated subsec. (b) as (a) and substituted “retailer or person engaged in the business of supplying a covered commodity to a retailer” for “retailer” in introductory provisions, added subsec. (b), and struck out former subsecs. (a) and (c) which related to applicability of section 1636b of this title to a violation of this subchapter and fine for violation of section 1638a of this title. The substitution in subsec. (a) was made for “retailer” the first time appearing to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2008 AmendmentAmendment of this section and repeal of Pub. L. 110–234 by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 8701 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

7 U.S.C. § 1638b

Title 7 — Agriculture

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73