CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is finalizing a new de minimis exemption from Lacey Act declaration requirements for importers. Under the final rule, importers will not have to submit declarations for products with minimal amounts of plant material, with limitations also set on the total amount of plant material on an entry line. The final rule takes effect April 1.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is finalizing new standards that would allow it to recognize “compartments” for animal disease status in foreign countries, it said in a notice. The final rule is the same as the proposed rule (see 1904030022), it said. “Our process will include information requirements for evaluating the animal health status of a compartment for which a market access request has been submitted,” APHIS said. “Under this rule, we will perform a risk assessment to evaluate the animal health status of a compartment. If after conducting the evaluation, we deem the risk of importing animals or animal products from that compartment to be acceptable, we will publish a Federal Register notice announcing the availability of the risk documentation for public review and comment.” The rule will take effect on March 30.
New regulations setting a new de minimis exemption from Lacey Act declaration requirements for importers is now set for publication, after the Office of Management and Budget approved its review of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service final rule. As proposed by APHIS in July 2018 (see 1807060013), importers would not have to submit declarations for products with minimal amounts of plant material, with thresholds based on either weight or volume at either the product or entry line level. OMB completed its approval “consistent with change,” which means the final rule can be published, albeit with some substantive changes required by OMB.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 27-31 in case they were missed.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is set to require filing of its “core” partner government agency (PGA) data in ACE beginning Aug. 3, 2020, the agency said in a notice. “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,” APHIS said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is adding the Philippines to its list of regions subject to import restrictions on pork and pork products because it is affected by African swine fever, it said. Restrictions take effect retroactively to Sept. 17, 2019.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to remove restrictions on importation of unshu oranges from Japan, it said in a notice. The agency will now allow importation of unshu oranges from Shikoku or Honshu without the previously required fumigation with methyl bromide. APHIS will also allow importation Unshu oranges from Kyushu into all U.S. ports. The changes take effect Jan. 31.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is adding Serbia and Myanmar to its list of regions subject to import restrictions on pork and pork products because they are affected by African swine fever, it said. Restrictions take effect retroactively to Aug.14, 2019, for Serbia, and to Aug. 19, 2019, for Myanmar.
CBP issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters: