The Department of Agriculture announced the establishment of the tariff rate quotas for raw cane sugar and refined and specialty sugars (including syrups and molasses) for fiscal year 2020 (Oct. 1, 2019 - Sept. 30, 2020).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to loosen requirements on importation of bovines and bovine products from Nicaragua, it said in a notice. APHIS intends to reclassify Nicaragua as having negligible risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, concurring with recommendations recently issued by the Organization for Animal Health, the agency said. Nicaragua is currently classified as having controlled risk of BSE. Imports of bovines and bovine products from countries with controlled BSE risk face tighter restrictions. Comments are due Aug. 16.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is adding Mongolia to its list of regions subject to import restrictions on pork and pork products because they are affected by African swine fever, it said in a notice. Restrictions take effect retroactively to Jan. 10, 2019.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing an overhaul of its regulations on importation and other movements of genetically engineered organisms. Under the proposed rule, importers would have the choice of either an APHIS review pre-importation to determine whether a permit is necessary, or just applying for a permit. Developers of GE organisms would also be able to self-determine that their GE organism is exempt, though invalid self-determinations would be subject to penalties.
The Foreign Agricultural Service published a list of updated quantity trigger levels and applicable periods for products that may be subject to additional import duties under the safeguard provisions of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Agriculture.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will continue trade in swine products "in the event African swine fever (ASF) is reported in either country," the chief veterinary officers from both countries said in a joint statement. "For business continuity, Canada and the United States have worked to modify their export certificates to allow trade of live swine, swine semen, pet food and animal by-products and meat to continue trade in approved disease-free zones in the event of an ASF outbreak," the CVOs said. The two countries previously set out principles for trade and zoning to help slow the spread of diseases.
The Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation on May 16 announced that Special Import Quota #4 for upland cotton will be established on May 23, allowing importation of 12,041,208 kilograms (55,304 bales) of upland cotton, down from 12,157,032 kilograms (55,836 bales) in the last quota period. It will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Aug. 20, 2019, and entered into the U.S. by Nov. 18, 2019. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the period January 2019 through March 2019, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation on May 9 announced that Special Import Quota #3 for upland cotton will be established on May 16, allowing importation of 12,157,032 kilograms (55,836 bales) of upland cotton, the same as the last quota period. It will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Aug. 13, 2019, and entered into the U.S. by Nov. 11, 2019. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the period December 2018 through February 2019, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is finalizing changes to its regulations on the importation of peppers from South Korea, it said. The final rule increases the mesh size of the screening over vent openings in South Korean greenhouses from 0.6 mm to 1.6 mm, provided that sticky traps are used as an additional measure for pest monitoring. The change in mesh size was requested by the South Korean government. The new requirements take effect May 9.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to eliminate the requirement that carnation cuttings imported from Kenya be quarantined upon arrival in the U.S. under certain conditions, it said in a notice. Currently, carnation (Dianthus spp.) cuttings are exempt from postentry quarantine when imported from Canada, and are conditionally exempt from quarantine when imported from Great Britain or the Netherlands. APHIS is proposing to also conditionally exempt Kenyan carnation cuttings, subject to conditions including registration of greenhouses and growers, growing requirements, inspections and a phytosanitary certificate from the Kenyan government. Comments are due July 8.