The Commodity Credit Corporation is accepting applications for programs designed to promote U.S. agricultural exports. Applications may be submitted by June 18 for fiscal year 2019 funding under the following programs administered by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS):
The Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation on May 3 announced Special Import Quota #2 for upland cotton will be established on May 10, allowing importation of 13,170,669 kilograms (60,492 bales) of upland cotton. It will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Aug. 7, 2018, and entered into the U.S. by Nov. 5, 2018. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the period December 2017 through February 2018, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing to make changes to its National List of substances allowed and prohibited in organic products, it said. The proposed rule would add elemental sulfur to the National List for use in organic livestock production. It would also reclassify potassium acid tartrate from a non-agricultural substance to an agricultural substance and require the organic form of the ingredient when commercially available. Comments are due June 29.
Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue selected Ken Isley to be the new administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA said in a press release. Isley was previously a special adviser at Corteva Agriscience, a division of DowDuPont.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to loosen requirements on importation of bovines and bovine products from Poland, Croatia, Scotland and Northern Ireland, it said in a notice. APHIS intends to reclassify the four countries as having negligible risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, concurring with recommendations recently issued by the Organization for Animal Health, the agency said. Poland, Croatia, Scotland and Northern Ireland are 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 June 25.
The Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation on April 19 announced Special Import Quota #26 for upland cotton will be established on April 26, allowing importation of 13,170,669 kilograms (60,492 bales) of upland cotton. It will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than July 24, 2018, and entered into the U.S. by Oct. 22, 2018. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the period December 2017 through February 2018, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to amend its regulations on the importation of peppers from South Korea to change certain requirements, it said. The proposed rule would increase the mesh size of the screening over vent openings in South Korean greenhouses from 0.6 mm to 1.6 mm, and require the use of colored sticky traps as an additional measure for pest monitoring. The change in mesh size was requested by the South Korean government. Comments on the proposal are due June 19.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to allow imports of fresh cape gooseberry fruit from Ecuador, it said in a proposed rule. Shipments would have to come from pest-free places of production and be put in labeled boxes prior to shipping. Gooseberry that does not meet these conditions would still be able to be imported but would be subject to treatment. Comments on the proposed rule are due June 19.
The Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation on April 12 announced Special Import Quota #25 for upland cotton will be established on April 19, allowing importation of 13,170,669 kilograms (60,492 bales) of upland cotton, down from 13,357,069 kilograms (61,348 bales) in the previously announced quota (see 1804060009). It will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than July 17, 2018, and entered into the U.S. by Oct. 15, 2018. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the period December 2017 through February 2018, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to amend its regulations on branding requirements for bovines imported into the U.S. from Mexico, it said. The proposed action, requested by Mexico, would simplify and enlarge brands on imported bovines. “The changes we are proposing would help prevent inconsistencies in branding that can result in bovines being rejected for import into the United States,” APHIS said. Comments are due June 11.