The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a proposed rule that, if adopted, would represent a significant structural revision of the fruits and vegetables import regulations and would establish a new process for approving certain new commodities for importation into the U.S. In addition, APHIS has scheduled four public hearings in May and June 2006 to discuss the proposed changes.
The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has issued a proposed rule to revise and update its regulations in 50 CFR Parts 10, 13, 17, and 23 that implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
On April 26, 2006, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on "Authorization of Customs and Trade Functions" in order to review the operation of customs and trade functions in the federal government. This review will assist the Finance Committee in preparing legislation to reauthorize those functions.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a notice which adds Gaza, the West Bank, and Cte d'Ivoire to the list of countries from which the importation of certain birds and bird products are temporarily banned in order to protect poultry and humans in the U.S. from the possible spread of avian influenza (Influenza A, H5N1).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a final rule, effective May 1, 2006, which allows the importation, under certain condition, of fresh commercial citrus fruit (grapefruit, limes, mandarin oranges or tangerines, sweet oranges, and tangelos) from approved areas of Peru into the U.S. Based on a recent pest risk analysis, APHIS believes that such citrus fruit can be safely imported from Peru, provided certain conditions are met.
The April 24, 2006 Federal Register contains the semi-annual regulatory agendas for numerous federal government agencies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued notices which add Pakistan and Burkina Faso to the list of countries from which the importation of certain birds and bird products are temporarily banned in order to protect poultry and humans in the U.S. from the possible spread of avian influenza (Influenza A, H5N1).
The Washington Post reports that President Bush's move to nominate current U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been widely viewed as indicating that the Bush Administration holds little hope for secure a far-reaching deal in the Doha round of trade talks in 2006 and possibly for much longer than that. (WP dated 04/19/06, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041801488.html.)
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a final rule, effective May 15, 2006, which amends its nursery stock regulations at 7 CFR Part 319 to allow the importation of small lots of seed under an import permit with specific conditions, as an alternative to the current phytosanitary certificate requirement.
The Animal and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a proposed rule to amend its domestic quarantine regulations in 7 CFR Part 301 in order to establish a process by which a State or political subdivision of a State could request approval to impose prohibitions or restrictions on the movement in interstate commerce of specific articles, that are in addition to the prohibitions and restrictions imposed by APHIS.