U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted a joint "Asian Gypsy Moth Maritime Alert" issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) calling for shipping lines to order all vessel crews to conduct intensive vessel inspections to remove (scrape off) and destroy all Asian gypsy moth (AGM) egg masses prior to entering U.S. and Canadian ports. The alert also provides specific actions for vessels transiting/calling on far east Russia, Japan, China, and Korea.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has updated certain instructions that appear on PPQ Form 505, the Lacey Act Amendments Plant and Plant Product Declaration (for imported plants and plant products), since its original December 2008 posting.
According to Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service sources, the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) Taxonomy for Plants1 is often a better tool for helping to determine the correct plant genus and species for the Lacey Act Amendments than the Plant Genus and Species Look Up provided on APHIS' Lacey Act Web page.
The White House has posted remarks by the Vice President at the swearing-in of former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk as U.S. Trade Representative on March 20, 2009. In his remarks, the Vice President emphasized that the USTR's mission is to blaze a trail beyond our borders and come up with innovative ways for our trade policies to inspire a new environment of basic fairness. (Vice President's remarks, dated 03/20/09, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-Vice-President-Biden-at-the-Swearing-in-of-United-States-Representative-Ron-Kirk/.
On March 19, 2009, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee ordered the nomination of former Washington governor Gary Locke as Commerce Secretary favorably reported. (Congressional Record, dated 03/19/09, available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r111:@FIELD(FLD003d)@FIELD(DDATE20090319).)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has made available through a recent Webinar1 a March 17, 2009 PowerPoint presentation containing updated information on the Lacey Act Amendments declaration requirement for imported plant and plant products.
On March 5, 2009, the House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight held a hearing on "Putting People First: A Way Forward for the Homeland Security Workforce."
CBP Issues Sample Message Sets for Lacey Act Amendments Data (Phase II Enforcement Begins April 1st)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted examples of PGA CATAIR Chapter message sets using the HI, HN and EI applications, that CBP will accept for entries that contain the Lacey Act Amendments declaration data for imported plants and plant products.
The Port of Los Angeles states that continued weakened world economy and Chinese New Year observance factory closures contributed to a 32.56 percent decline in container traffic, year over year, for February at the Port of Los Angeles. Container volumes are down a total of 20.94 percent for the 2009 calendar year and 8.91 percent for the fiscal year, which began July 1, 2008. (News release, dated 03/12/09, available at http://www.portoflosangeles.org/newsroom/2009_releases/news_031309_econ_downturn.asp)
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service recently issued a brochure highlighting its electronic permitting system, ePermits, that gives importers online access to various types of agricultural permits, including those needed for importation.