CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will delay its deadline for ACE filing of its “APHIS Core” partner government agency (PGA) message set until January 2021, it said in an emailed bulletin June 30. APHIS had originally set a mandatory use date of Aug. 3, but “in response to stakeholder concerns about operational and economic setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, APHIS will publish a second Federal Register notice in the coming weeks that will delay implementation,” the agency said. “This action will give the trade community time to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for this change.” In the meantime, filers should continue to prepare for mandatory filing, APHIS said. The Aug. 3 deadline was set to include APHIS-regulated plants, plant products, animal products, or live dog imports, besides Lacey Act data already required in ACE, but was not going to include live animal imports, APHIS had said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service recently announced that it is establishing an Offshore Greenhouse Certification Program for greenhouse facilities located outside the U.S. “Facilities that are accepted into the program will agree to produce generally admissible unrooted plant cuttings under a systems approach to reduce pest and disease risks,” APHIS said. “In turn, shipments produced and exported under this program may receive fewer or less frequent inspections at U.S. plant inspection stations, helping to expedite clearance and entry.” Foreign greenhouses must meet minimum standards for participation related to greenhouse construction, security, production and sanitation, pest management, training and recordkeeping. “APHIS officials will physically visit and certify each facility -- at the facility’s expense -- before it may participate in the program,” the agency said. APHIS will schedule onsite visits starting in November 2020, it said. Greenhouse facilities interested in participating in the 2020-21 season should contact Karelyn Cruz at APHIS at karelyn.cruz@usda.gov by Aug. 31.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is placing new restrictions on imports of tomatoes and bell peppers from the Dominican Republic, France and Spain in response to detections in those countries of the tomato brown rugose fruit virus, it said. The agency is adding those three countries to a Federal Order it issued in March that includes certification and inspection requirements. The Federal Order is otherwise mostly unchanged, APHIS said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow imports of fresh carrots from South Korea, it said in a notice. Eligible shipments must meet several conditions, including production and packing in registered locations, inspection requirements, washing, sampling in South Korea, and a phytosanitary certificate issued by the South Korean government. Carrots from South Korea that meet those conditions may be authorized for importation beginning June 5.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service extended until July 18 its temporary policy allowing electronic submission of nearly all import documents, including veterinary certificates, phytosanitary certificates and PPQ 203 forms, in the ACE Document Image System (DIS), CBP said in a May 15 CSMS message. The policy, in place since April 8 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, had been set to expire May 16.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on May 18 issued new regulations on importation and other movements of genetically engineered organisms. Under the final rule, importers will have the choice of either an APHIS review pre-importation to determine whether a permit is necessary, or just applying for a permit. Developers of GE organisms are also able to self-determine that their GE organism is exempt, though invalid self-determinations will be subject to penalties.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: