The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will slightly lower some fees for agricultural quarantine and inspection (AQI) services, the agency said in a news release. The agency is removing a 3.5% surcharge put in place in 2015 for commercial trucks and truck transponders, international air passengers and international cruise ship passengers, in response to a court decision that found the APHIS no longer has the authority to implement the increase. The amended fees take effect Dec. 1. “Please note that these fee changes do not affect [CBP] fees collected concurrently with certain AQI fees listed above, such as those fees applicable to commercial trucks, although the overall amount to be tendered in such transactions will change accordingly."

The Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing changes to the marketing order on walnuts that include the elimination of mandatory inspection and certification requirements, a new mechanism for collecting assessments, a new authority for collecting late payments and an assessment rate of $0.0125 per in-shell pound of walnuts, it said in a notice in the Oct. 25 Federal Register. The proposed changes would allow the collection of assessments, currently on pause, to resume, the AMS said. Written exceptions are due Nov. 25.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing changes to import conditions for table grapes from Chile, it said in a notice released Oct. 14. Under the changes, table grapes from Chile could be imported under a systems approach or using irradiation treatment for the European grapevine moth and Chilean false red mite if they are from areas with a very low prevalence of those pests. Current mitigation measures for the Medfly would remain unchanged. “The systems approach would provide an alternative to the current import requirement of mandatory treatment with methyl bromide fumigation,” APHIS said in an emailed update. Comments are due Dec. 16.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is loosening requirements on importation of bovines and bovine products from Ireland, it said in a notice. APHIS will reclassify Ireland as having negligible risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, concurring with recommendations recently issued by the World Organization for Animal Health, the agency said. Ireland had previously been classified as undetermined for BSE risk, and imports of bovines and bovine products from the country were prohibited.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow importation of pummelo fruit from Vietnam into the U.S., subject to certain phytosanitary requirements, it said in a notice released Oct. 3. Imports may be authorized beginning Oct. 4, APHIS said.

The Agricultural Marketing Service is amending the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations to increase the value assigned to imported cotton for the purposes of calculating supplemental assessments on imports collected under the Cotton Research and Promotion Program, it said in a direct final rule released Sept. 27. The revised value is 1.3215 cents, an increase of .2079 cent per kilogram. The increase reflects a rise in the average price of upland cotton received by U.S. farmers during the period January through December 2021. AMS's notice also includes a table of adjusted assessments corresponding to each Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading for which they are due. The changes take effect Nov. 28, unless adverse comments are received by Oct. 28.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow imports of fresh turmeric (Curcuma longa) rhizome from Samoa, it said in a notice released Sept. 26. Importation will be subject to "one or more designated phytosanitary measures ... to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds,” APHIS said. Imports may be authorized beginning Sept. 27.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow imports of non-precleared sand pears from South Korea into all U.S. ports, it said in a notice released Sept. 26. Previously, non-precleared sand pears from the country could be imported only into the Port of Honolulu, and only fruit imported under an APHIS preclearance program was allowed into all ports (see 2103120030). The non-precleared sand pears will be subject to the import conditions of the “systems approach” currently required for precleared fruit. Imports may be authorized at all U.S. ports beginning Sept. 27, APHIS said.

USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Sept. 22 that Special Import Quota #23 for upland cotton will be established Sept. 29, allowing importation of 12,112,732 kilograms (55,633 bales) of upland cotton, the same as the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Dec. 27, 2022, and entered into the U.S. by March 27, 2023. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the May through July 2022 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is beginning its annual certification visits for greenhouse facilities that wish to export Pelargonium spp. unrooted plant cuttings, it said Sept. 21. The certifications are required for any shipments from countries where Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2 is known to occur, APHIS said. The agency plans to complete inspections by March 1, 2023, for facilities shipping during the 2022-23 season, it said. Those interested in scheduling a certification visit should send official correspondence from the National Plant Protection Organization of the exporting country to APHIS by Oct. 15, APHIS said.