The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails April 11, 2012, announcing changes to some Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
Brian Feito
Brian Feito is Managing Editor of International Trade Today, Export Compliance Daily and Trade Law Daily. A licensed customs broker who spent time at the Department of Commerce calculating antidumping and countervailing duties, Brian covers a wide range of subjects including customs and trade-facing product regulation, the courts, antidumping and countervailing duties and Mexico and the European Union. Brian is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason University. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2012.
The International Trade Commission is seeking comments by May 10, 2012, for a newly initiated investigation on trade facilitation in the East African Community (EAC). The investigation, Trade Facilitation in the East African Community: Recent Developments and Potential Benefits, was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative. In requesting the study, the USTR noted that the U.S. and the EAC recently began preliminary discussions on a potential new trade and investment partnership, and said one of the initial steps under this initiative that could have the most impact would be engagement with the EAC on customs clearance and other practices at the border. As requested, ITC will provide a summary of recent developments relating to trade facilitation in the EAC. The ITC report will include a description of the potential benefits of trade facilitation to the EAC countries. The ITC expects to submit its report to the USTR by July 2, 2012.
The International Trade Administration is publishing notices in the April 11, 2012, Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, the scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The Food Safety and Inspection Service reports that the Regional Committee on Europe is requesting comments by July 20, 2012, on the proposed regional standard for the fresh fungus chanterelle. Details follow:
The Food and Drug Administration has announced that it has selected (i) tomatoes; (ii) frozen kung-pao style dishes; and (iii) jarred peanut butter & dry packaged peanut / spice as the types of foods that it will be following as part of its pilot projects on the tracking and tracing of food, as required by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
The Bureau of Industry and Security posted an online tool to help users of License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA) determine if they're eligible to use and will be in compliance with License Exception STA. The tool is purely voluntary and serves as a checklist to identify and verify the key eligibility and compliance requirements of License Exception STA. Using the tool does not guarantee eligibility. It's important for all exporters to review the requirements of the EAR, specifically section 740.20.
The Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is requesting comments by June 11, 2012, on its proposed rule that would revise the U.S. Standards for Wheat under the U.S. Grain Standards Act (USGSA) to (i) change the definition of Contrasting classes (CCL) in Hard White wheat and (ii) change the grade limits for shrunken and broken kernels (SHBN).
From March 26 to March 28, 2012, the Foreign Agriculture Service issued the following GAIN reports:
On April 10, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
From March 21 to March 23, 2012, the Foreign Agriculture Service issued the following GAIN reports: