CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will roll out its “Core” partner government agency (PGA) message set in two stages “to allow trade to adjust to the data requirements,” said CBP in a CSMS message Jan. 21. On the Jan. 25 date previously announced as APHIS Core’s mandatory use date, APHIS will require filers to submit message set data for regulated products but will maintain “warning level” Harmonized Tariff Schedule code flagging. Beginning March 15, APHIS will fully enforce submission of its Core message set using reject flagging. “The delay until March 15, 2021, is technical only; filers should start submitting APHIS Core message set data on January 25, 2021,” CBP said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Agriculture Department seeks comments on regulations it is considering on the movement, including importation, of animals modified or developed by genetic engineering. The Dec. 28 advance notice of proposed rulemaking contemplates that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service would conduct assessments of genetically engineered animals, and the Food Safety and Inspection Service would conduct pre-slaughter inspections. Importation and interstate movement would subject to permitting requirements, it says. USDA’s approach would be similar to recent regulations on the movement of genetically engineered plants (see 2005180023), with some differences, the ANPRM says. Comments are due Feb. 26.
There will be $840 million in emergency appropriations for CBP, in light of its lost fees during the COVID-19 pandemic, one of many areas where Congress voted to dedicate additional funding through Sept. 30, 2021. The massive omnibus spending bill that passed both chambers late on Dec. 21 also dedicated an additional $10 million for ports of entry technology. The Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund will receive $50 million more than in the last fiscal year. It uses 92% of the fees collected for maintenance purposes, an estimated $1.68 billion in all in the current fiscal year.
Mandatory filing in ACE of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s “Core” partner government agency (PGA) message set begins Jan. 25, 2021, but the agency “strongly recommends” that filers begin using it now, APHIS said in an email sent Dec. 21. APHIS has uploaded a series of six webinars on the PGA message set to its website, covering “a wide range of APHIS-regulated products, including fresh fruits and vegetables, cut flowers, animal products, miscellaneous and processed products, seeds not for planting, and plants for planting as well as a general overview of the APHIS Core message set,” it said. “In addition, we recently posted APHIS Core Message Set Questions and Answers, which covers some of the most commonly asked questions about submitting an APHIS Core Message Set,” the agency said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to allow imports of citrus fruit from additional regions in Australia, it said in a notice released Dec. 16. The agency intends to allow in citrus fruits from the inland region of Queensland, the shires of Bourke and Narromine in New South Wales, and all of Western Australia, in addition to the already authorized regions of Riverina in New South Wales, the Riverland region of South Australia and Northwest Victoria's Sunraysia region. Imports from the three new regions will still require treatment in some cases, and must be accompanied by phytosanitary certificates. Comments are due to APHIS by Feb. 15, 2021.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service released on Nov. 25 a notice listing ongoing international sanitary and phytosanitary standard-setting activities of the World Organization for Animal Health, the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention and the North American Plant Protection Organization. Comments on the standards being considered may be submitted at any time, APHIS said.