Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 23-27, 2011 in case they were missed last week.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a final rule, effective June 27, 2011, which establishes a new category of regulated articles in the imported nursery stock (or plants for planting) regulations. This new category will list taxa of plants for planting whose importation is “Not Authorized Pending Pest Risk Analysis” (NAPPRA). This new category will allow APHIS to take prompt action on evidence that the importation of a taxon of plants for planting poses a risk while continuing to allow for public participation in the process.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has updated the following PPQ electronic manuals as of May 26, 2011 (since May 19, 2011):
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service sent a proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget entitled "Importation of Live Dogs."
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has announced the following recent updates in its Animal Export Regulations History:
On July 1, 2010, APHIS began enforcing its requirement for plant material quantities to be reported using standardized metric units (such as kg, m, m2, m3), for both paper and electronic Lacey Act Amendment declarations for imported plants and plant products. According to sources, APHIS is not yet rejecting any entries when declarations are not in metric units, but may do so in the future. APHIS officials are also discussing which additional products should be listed as subject to enforcement for the declaration requirement itself (which is currently at Phase IV in terms of listed products).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a final rule, effective May 24, 2011, which amends the livestock exportation regulations to eliminate the requirement for pre-export tuberculosis and brucellosis testing of goats and breeding swine intended for export to countries that do not require such tests.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a proposed rule to amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation of fresh pitaya fruit from Central America into the continental U.S. As a condition of entry, such pitaya fruit would be subject to a systems approach that would include requirements for monitoring and oversight, establishment of pest-free places of production, and procedures for packing the pitaya fruit. Comments are due by July 25, 2011.
Effective May 22, 2011, the Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service issued a Federal Order revising the import requirements for commercial and noncommercial shipments of imported hardwood and softwood firewood from Canada and spruce logs from the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, to require that these shipments be heat-treated to ensure that certain plant pests are not introduced into the U.S.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has updated the following PPQ electronic manuals as of May 19, 2011 (since May 12, 2011):