The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is loosening requirements on importation of bovines and bovine products from Nicaragua, it said in a notice. APHIS will reclassify the country as having negligible risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, concurring with recommendations recently issued by the World Organization for Animal Health, the agency said. Nicaragua was previously classified as having controlled risk of BSE, a category for which imports face tighter restrictions.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service may allow the importation of carrots from South Korea, it said in a notice. The agency has issued a draft pest risk analysis that recommends that imports be allowed, with certain conditions, including phytosanitary certificates from the South Korean government, registration of production locations, washing and disinfection requirements, and port of entry inspections, among other things. Comments on the draft pest risk analysis are due Jan. 10.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service finalized rules to allow imports of Chinese poultry products from birds slaughtered in China, it said in a notice. Slaughtered poultry processed in certified Chinese establishments will be eligible for export to the U.S., subject to all other applicable requirements and re-inspection at the U.S. port of entry, FSIS said. As proposed (see 1706160035), eligible products would be limited to cooked poultry, it said." This final rule is consistent with the provisions of the proposed rule," the agency said. The rules will take effect Dec. 9.
CBP posted a new guidance on the factors the agency may consider for reducing penalties for violations of wood packaging material regulations. The agency also gave a range of possible mitigation amounts based on the number of violations that have occurred. CBP said in 2017 it would increase the frequency of penalties for WPM violations and no longer limit some penalties to parties with five or more violations (see 1709250038) to motivate better compliance with the rules.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to loosen requirements on importation of bovines and bovine products from Ecuador and Serbia, it said in a notice. APHIS intends to reclassify Ecuador as having controlled risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and Serbia as having negligible risk, concurring with recommendations recently issued by the World Organization for Animal Health, the agency said. Neither country is currently classified as having controlled or negligible risk of BSE. Comments are due Dec. 24.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service posted a list of frequently asked questions on recent changes to import requirements for tomato and pepper seeds. According to the FAQ, tomato and pepper seed shipments that don’t have a phytosanitary certificate with an additional statement related to pospiviroid pathogens are being refused entry as of Sept. 8, 2019.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to remove restrictions on importation of unshu oranges from certain Japanese regions into some U.S. ports, it said in a notice. Currently, unshu oranges from Shikoku or Honshu must be fumigated with methyl bromide as a mitigation for mites and mealybugs if the oranges are destined to a port of entry in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana or Texas. Unshu oranges from Kyushu can’t be imported at all into ports of entry in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii or Texas. APHIS is proposing to eliminate both sets of restrictions. Comments are due Nov. 22.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to loosen restrictions on importation of sand pears from Japan, it said in a notice. While APHIS currently only allows importation of sand pears from a few Japanese prefectures, the agency is now proposing to allow imports from all of Japan, except for Amami, Bonin, Ryukyu, Tokara, and Volcano Islands. APHIS would also eliminate a requirement for an additional declaration on phytosanitary certificates that the sand pears have been inspected and found free of certain pests. Comments are due Nov. 22.