The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will further limit imports of dogs from countries where African swine fever (ASF) exists, the agency said in an Aug. 6 news release. The new requirements include provisions related to dog bedding and microchip implants for dogs from those countries, it said. A bill introduced this week in the Senate would require every imported dog to have a health certificate from a licensed veterinarian (see 2108040067).
A bill that would require every imported dog to have a health certificate from a licensed veterinarian, and would create an online database with import permits and documentation, was introduced Aug. 4 by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn. Within 18 months of the bill becoming law, the U.S. Department of Agriculture would be required to promulgate final regulations on that verification and on how dogs would be denied entry without the documentation.
Seventy-five trade groups, including the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Foreign Trade Council and the Oudoor Industry Association, are telling U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai that Vietnamese exports should not face tariffs over either currency manipulation or environmental abuses.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from June 28 - July 2 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The next phase of Lacey Act implementation by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will begin Oct. 1, APHIS said in a notice released July 1. Phase VI subjects 27 new tariff lines to Lacey Act declaration requirements. The agency had originally planned the new requirements for October 2020 before delaying due to the COVID-19 pandemic (see 2008190010).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will not begin enforcing its sixth phase of enforcement of Lacey Act declaration requirements July 1, but the agency expects no further delays to implementation (see 2008190010), the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in an emailed update June 28. APHIS will publish a Federal Register notice “any day” now announcing that enforcement will begin “on Aug. 1, or 30 days after the Federal Register notice is published,” the NCBFAA said, citing APHIS officials who spoke with an NCBFAA committee.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to loosen requirements on importation of bovines and bovine products from Bolivia and the United Kingdom's zone of Jersey, it said in a notice released June 24. APHIS intends to reclassify them has having negligible risk, concurring with recommendations recently issued by the World Organization for Animal Health, the agency said. Comments are due Aug. 24.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to loosen conditions for imports of melons from Japan, it said in a notice released May 20. The agency intends to allow imports of melons with stems into the entire U.S., it said. Currently, fresh melon fruit is authorized for import only into Hawaii, and fresh cantaloupe and honeydew melons are allowed to be imported only into Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands from certain Japanese regions. Comments are due July 20.