U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted an updated version of its recently issued Participating Government Agencies Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) chapter.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture on March 31, 2009, outlining the Administration's plans to bring reform to USDA and discussing how the President's budget will revitalize rural America. Among other things Secretary Vilsack stated that while the country as a whole has a trade deficit, agriculture has a trade surplus estimated to be $13 billion in FY 2009. (USDA, dated 03/31/09, available at http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/03/0078.xml)
During his announcement of a new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, the President called on Congress to pass a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Representatives Cantwell, Van Hollen and Hoekstra that creates opportunity zones in the border regions to develop the economy and bring hope to places plagued with violence. See future issue of ITT for additional details on this legislation. (Press release, dated 03/27/09, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-a-New-Strategy-for-Afghanistan-and-Pakistan/.)
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a final rule, effective April 29, 20091, which incrementally increases user fees in fiscal years 2009 through 2013 for import- and export-related services that APHIS provides for animals, animal products, birds, germ plasm, organisms, and vectors.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service have issued instructions regarding the submission of the automated and paper versions of the Lacey Act Amendments Plant and Plant Products Declaration (PPQ 505).
According to several sources, U.S. Customs and Border Protection may soon announce a one month delay - until May 1, 2009 - of its enforcement of the Lacey Act Amendments declaration requirement for certain wood and wood articles classified in HTS Chapter 44 that are imported by rail or truck.
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/.