FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – CBP’s partner government agency (PGA) filing pilots in the Automated Commercial Environment are still hampered by a lack of participants, said Steve Hilsen, leader of International Trade Data System efforts at CBP, speaking at the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade Northeast Cargo Symposium on Oct. 27. Some PGAs are “ready to roll” with their pilot programs, but have yet to attract a single volunteer, he said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is moving forward with changes to its Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection (AQI) fees, and will soon publish a final rule in the Federal Register to implement fee increases for certain transportation modes and a new fee for treatment services, it said (here). The final rule will also remove caps on fees for vessels and railcars, and increase the caps on fees for trucks with transponders. According to APHIS' publication schedule, the new fees will take effect on Dec. 28, though the agency will allow for a staged implementation of the treatment fee over the next five years, it said in the final rule (here).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Oct. 20-23 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 will allow imports of fresh peppers from Ecuador, it said in a final rule (here). Effective Nov. 23, the common bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), locoto pepper (Capsicum baccatum L.), habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.), tabasco pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.), and manzano pepper (Capsicum pubescens Ruiz & Pav.) will be allowed for importation from Ecuador into the entire United States. Importation will be subject to conditions, including fruit fly trapping, pre-harvest inspections, production sites, and packinghouse procedures designed to exclude quarantine pests.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on Oct. 23 announced it is adding Croatia to its list of regions that are free of foot-and-mouth disease, rinderpest, and swine vesicular disease, and its list of regions considered free or low-risk for classical swine fever, in a notice (here). The determination, which takes effect Nov. 23, paves the way for imports of swine, pork, and pork products from Croatia.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow imports of fresh pitahaya from Israel into the continental U.S., it said in a notice issued Oct. 23 (here). As a condition of entry, each shipment must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate from the government of Israel and inspected upon arrival. The notice takes immediate effect, said APHIS.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Oct. 15 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 Oct. 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.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP posted some new summaries to its previously released list (see 1509220019) of Standard Operating Procedures for CBP and Participating Government Agencies as part of the Automated Commercial Environment/International Trade Data System pilot (here). Links to the new ACE Pilot procedure summaries are below: