CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is eliminating restrictions on imports of pine shoot beetle host materials from Canada, including cut pine Christmas trees and other articles containing pine bark, it said in a final rule released Sept. 30. APHIS is removing quarantine requirements for domestic interstate transport of pine shoot beetle hosts, rendering the regulations covering imports from Canada obsolete, APHIS said. Regulations under 7 CFR 319.40-5(m) that are now to be eliminated under this final rule required that imports from Canada be accompanied by statements and certificates showing the origin of regulated articles and the places through which they were moved, as well as fumigation requirements in some circumstances. The final rule takes effect Nov. 2.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is adding Papua New Guinea to its list of regions subject to import restrictions on pork and pork products because it is affected by African swine fever, it said in a notice released Sept. 29. Restrictions take effect retroactively to April 1, 2020.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Sept. 21-25 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service released a notice Sept. 25 formally delaying its deadline for ACE filing of its “core” partner government agency (PGA) message set until January. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, APHIS has decided to delay implementation until January 25, 2021. On that date, APHIS intends to begin applying [Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS)] flags, which will alert filers, who opt to submit data electronically, whether APHIS import data is or may be required. Importers or brokers using ACE must enter APHIS-required import data when they receive an APHIS-specific HTS flag in order to complete their entry in the system,” the notice said. APHIS had announced the delay by email in June (see 2006300062).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is now extending until the end of the year its temporary policy allowing electronic submission of phytosanitary certificates and PPQ 203 forms in the ACE Document Image System (DIS), the agency said by email Sept. 21. The policy has been in place since April 8, through renewals extending the initial period covered when first implemented (see 2005180047). “To help facilitate the clearance of imported plants and plant products during the COVID-19 pandemic, APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will continue to accept electronically produced versions of phytosanitary certificates through December 31, 2020,” APHIS said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s new eFile online permitting system is up and running, a Sept. 22 agency email said. “APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) is excited to announce the new APHIS eFile PPQ 587 plants and plant products application for fresh fruits and vegetables permits,” the email said. The new system's benefits include that permit requests can have multiple countries per application, and that permits will be issued the same day as the request, APHIS said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service “is making great progress in implementing electronic country to country transfer of plant phytosanitary certificates” through what is known as the ePhyto hub, Nicole Russo, APHIS director-Quarantine Policy, Analysis, and Support, said Sept. 17 during the online conference of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. Currently, 42 countries, including Mexico and all of Europe, exchange “ePhytos,” and that number is expected to “increase significantly,” she said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is amending its regulations on the prevention of bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis, including provisions on importation of cattle, it said in a final rule released Sept. 16. As proposed in 2016, APHIS will scrap the current two-tiered system of general import requirements for most countries and country-specific requirements for Canada, Mexico and Ireland. In its place, APHIS is establishing a system that classifies regions of the world based on their prevalence of brucellosis or bovine tuberculosis and whether they have a program for control of the diseases that meets certain standards. Conditions on importation of cattle and bison will correspond to the classification level of the region from where the cattle or bison is exported, ranging from Level I to V for bovine tuberculosis and I to III for brucellosis, APHIS said. The new regulations also establish a process to allow regions to request a particular classification, it said. The final rule takes effect Oct. 19.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on Aug. 26 announced that it has reached a final decision that Romania is free of highly pathogenic avian influenza and Newcastle disease. The change in disease status eliminates certain requirements for importation of carcasses, meat, parts or products of carcasses, and eggs (other than hatching eggs) of poultry, game birds or other birds from Romania. It took effect Aug. 26.