The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has issued a press release announcing that a delegation from the U.S. and Chinese governments has concluded two days of negotiations to establish a protocol for the resumption of U.S. beef sales to China. According to the press release, USDA officials are now traveling to Japan to continue discussions on the resumption of U.S beef sales to Japan. (FAS, PR 0057-06, dated 05/15/06, available at http://www.fas.usda.gov/scriptsw/PressRelease/pressrel_dout.asp?Entry=valid&PrNum=0057-06)
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. APHIS has scheduled four public hearings in May and June 2006 to discuss the proposed changes.
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.)