The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Feb. 8 to Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables and flowers.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is extending the period for comments on changes to its regulations on importation, interstate movement and release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms, it said (here). The proposed rule, issued in January (see 1701180058), would modify current definitions of what is a GE organism, as well as the criteria used by APHIS to judge whether it regulates GE organisms based on the risk of introduction of plant pests or noxious weeds. Time-limited import permits would be eliminated, as would current notification procedures. Record-keeping requirements would be increased. Comments on the proposal are now due June 19.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is again extending the comment period, now until March 20, on a proposed rule to allow imports of Hass avocados from Colombia into the continental U.S., it said (here). Under the proposed rule, issued in October (see 1610260019), APHIS would set conditions on importation including monitoring of places of production and packinghouses; pest-free places of production; grove sanitation, monitoring and pest control practices; lot identification; and inspection for quarantine pests in Colombia. Hass avocados from Colombia would also have to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate from the Colombian government. APHIS already extended the comment period once in January (see 1701130031).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Feb. 1 to Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables and flowers.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Jan. 24 to Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables and flowers.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued a notice (here) delaying until March 27 the effective date of a recent final rule allowing importation of lemons from northwest Argentina into the continental U.S. (here). The final rule, which was originally set to take effect Jan. 23 (see 1612230018), is being delayed to comply with a memorandum issued by the Trump administration to all executive branch agencies (see 1701230031).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 17-20 in case they were missed.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus on Jan. 20 directed the heads of all executive branch departments and agencies to temporarily postpone until March 21 the effective dates of regulations published in the Federal Register that haven’t taken effect. The Trump administration will review “questions of fact, law, and policy” the regulations raise, Priebus said in the memo (here). The directive also instructs agencies to consider proposing for notice and comment rules to delay the effective date even longer “where appropriate and as permitted by applicable law,” with no further action needed for unsubstantial rulemakings and notification of the Office of Management and Budget for regulations that present substantial law or policy questions.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Jan. 19 to Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables and flowers.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has preliminarily found Cyprus free of several diseases affecting swine and ruminants, it said (here). In response to a request from the Cypriot government, the agency found Cyprus is free of foot-and-mouth disease, rinderpest, and swine vesicular disease, and as low risk for classical swine fever. If it confirms these findings, restrictions on importation of swine, ruminants, pork and pork products from Cyprus will be removed. Comments are due March 24.