The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is placing new restrictions on importation of horses from South Korea (here) and poultry from Lebanon (here), it said. Restrictions on importation of horses and other equines from South Korea, implemented because of an outbreak of contagious equine metritis, takes effect retroactively as of May 7, 2015. Restrictions on imports of live poultry, poultry meat and other poultry products from Lebanon, put in place because of an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, is effective retroactively to April 22, 2016.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service plans to loosen restrictions on importation of live bovines and bovine products from several countries, it said (here). The agency said it preliminarily concurs with the Organization for Animal Health’s decision to classify Costa Rica, Germany, Lithuania, Mexico, Namibia, Romania and Spain as having negligible risk for bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Under a 2013 final rule, bovines and bovine products may be imported from Mexico, Canada, or regions of negligible or controlled risk for BSE, subject to certain conditions (see 13110403). Romania and Namibia are currently not listed as either negligible or controlled risk countries, according to a list on the APHIS website (here). Comments are due March 24.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Jan. 17-18 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 (here) and the Centers for Disease Control (here) issued concurrent final rules amending their regulations related to the Select Agents and Toxins List. Though they made no changes to the actual list in their update, which is required every two years, they 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, APHIS said. “These changes will increase the usability of the select agent regulations as well as providing for enhanced program oversight,” APHIS said.
CBP issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is adding Moldova to its list of regions subject to import restrictions on pork and pork products because they are affected by African swine fever, it said (here). Restrictions take effect retroactively to Oct. 4, 2016.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing major changes to its regulations on importation, interstate movement and release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms. The proposed rule (here) 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 due May 19.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow importation of fresh star apple fruit from Vietnam into the continental U.S., it said in a notice (here) announcing its decision. Importation will be subject to conditions to mitigate risks of introducing plant pests or noxious weeds, APHIS said. The notice takes effect Jan. 19.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to overhaul its regulations on importation and interstate movements of plant pests. The agency’s proposed rule (here) 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 proposed rule 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 due March 20.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Jan. 13 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.