A recent Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service final rule allowing importation of lemons from northwest Argentina into the continental U.S. (see 1612230018) won't be delayed any further, the agency said May 1 (here). Argentine lemons can be imported into only the Northeastern U.S. during 2017 and 2018, the agency said. The final rule, which was originally set to take effect Jan. 23 (see 1612230018) but was delayed twice, will "go into effect when the stay expires on May 26," APHIS said. The final rule was delayed until March 27 to comply with a memorandum issued by the Trump administration to all executive branch agencies (see 1701230031) and later delayed again to May 26 (see 1703230019). Conditions for importation include registration of places of production and packinghouses, grove sanitation and monitoring, treatment and inspection. Lemons must be harvested green or treated for the Mediterranean fruit fly, and must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Argentine government. The Agriculture Department will work with "Argentina’s National Food Safety and Quality Service (SENASA) to finalize the operational work plan described in the final regulation," APHIS said.
Fiscal year 2017 spending legislation expected to be voted on by the House Appropriations Committee on May 3 contains language to provide ICE $15 million to investigate intellectual property rights violations, including operation of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, as well as $6 million for ICE enforcement of laws against child labor, according to a House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee report on the bill (here). Those funds are expended through ICE’s operations and support account, which House appropriators are proposing to fund at $6.2 billion in FY 2017, $900 million less than President Donald Trump’s March request (see 1703160022). The legislation (here) would also add $31 million to the CBP operations and support account for FY 2017, an amount which could be offset by amounts collected from outside entities for preclearance operations.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is further delaying until May 26 the effective date of a recent final rule allowing importation of lemons from northwest Argentina into the continental U.S., it said (here). The final rule, which was originally set to take effect Jan. 23 (see 1612230018), was delayed until March 27 to comply with a memorandum issued by the Trump administration to all executive branch agencies (see 1701230031). APHIS now says it needs more time to consider stakeholder input it received after the first delay.
CBP will test automated processing of maritime processing fees as part of a revenue modernization effort, the agency said (here). "These changes will enable CBP personnel to collect payment and issue electronic eReceipts quickly and efficiently, while providing the trade with the ability to pay maritime processing fees online," CBP said. Fees to be automated in the pilot include "Animal and Plant Health Inspection (APHIS) fees, CBP user fees (barge/bulk carriers and commercial vessel), Navigation fees and Tonnage Taxes, Special Tax and Light Money," CBP said in a frequently asked questions publication about the pilot (here). There will be two phases as part of the modernization, CBP said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 27 - March 3 in case they were missed.
International Trade Today is providing a list obtained from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of approved manufacturers of wooden handicrafts in China. Under regulations issued in 2012 by APHIS, wooden handcrafts from China made with twigs with bark of a diameter of over 1 centimeter or more are subject to treatment requirements (see 12030122). Fumigation by approved facilities may be used to satisfy the requirements if the twigs with bark have a diameter of less than 6 centimeters. "By the utilization of an approved facility, the U.S. importer is only responsible for obtaining an import permit and submitting a Lacey Act declaration to make entry,” an APHIS spokeswoman said. The list is current as of Feb. 28, 2017.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service recently updated its questions and answers document on new Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection (AQI) fees for treatment services (here). APHIS has set a new $237 fee for fumigation and cold treatment services monitored by the agency, set to be phased in over a period of five years (see 1510260080). The first stage, a fee of $47 for treatment services, took effect on Dec. 28, 2015, increased to $95 in December 2016, and will rise to $142 in December 2017.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is delaying the effective date of its recent final rule amending the regulations related to the Select Agents and Toxins List, it said (here). The January final rule added regulatory provisions to address the inactivation of select agents, address biocontainment and biosafety, and clarify regulatory language concerning security, training, incident response and records (see 1701180084). Originally set to take effect Feb. 21, the changes will now be effective March 21. The delay is meant to comply with a presidential memorandum issued when President Donald Trump took office (see 1701230031).
Several agencies have said they are at least willing to consider accepting partner government agency (PGA) data at the time of admission of goods into a foreign-trade zone, said leadership from the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones at the NAFTZ Legislative Summit on Feb. 15 in Washington. Once CBP implements its Form 214 application for FTZ admission form in ACE, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could use the new capability to accept data before entry, they said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is allowing more time for comments on its proposed overhaul of its regulations on importation and interstate movements of plant pests, it said (here). The agency’s proposed rule, issued Jan. 19 (see 1701180029), would codify and clarify existing permitting procedures, and create new lists of exempt plant pests and biological control organisms that APHIS determines present no risk to plants and plant products. The proposal would also set new packaging requirements for plant pests, biological control agents and soil, and revise APHIS’s regulations on importation of soil, stone and quarry products. Comments on the proposal are now due April 19.