CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service initiated 525 agricultural quarantine inspection cases, issued 198 AQI-related official warnings and reached 428 AQI-related pre-litigation settlement agreements in FY 2023, leading to the collection of more than $1 million in penalties, APHIS said in an annual summary of enforcement data released June 27. The agency said one case involved a $360,000 civil penalty “for improper disposal of regulated garbage,” and in another case APHIS negotiated a $150,000 pre-litigation settlement agreement to resolve violations of the Plant Protection Act involving the shipment of plants for planting without APHIS-issued permits or phytosanitary certificates.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will soon allow imports of fresh ginseng roots from South Korea into the U.S., it said in a notice released June 21. An agency pest risk analysis found “the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via the importation of fresh ginseng roots” from South Korea, APHIS said. Imports will be authorized beginning June 24.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has amended restrictions for importing tomatoes and peppers to reflect recent study findings on how the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) gets transported.
USDA has suspended until further notice the inspection of avocados and mangos originating from the western Mexico state of Michoacan.
Importers of H5 avian influenza virus variants must obtain a permit from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for variants that cause human disease, according to a June 12 CSMS message from CBP. On the other hand, for variants that don't cause human disease, such as attenuated strains that are no longer infectious, an importer certification statement should be included to avoid potential shipping delays, the message said. CDC is conducting the permit program in conjunction with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services (VS) and the Organisms and Vectors (OV) Permitting Unit, pursuant to 9 C.F.R. Part 122, which is the regulation governing the handling of organisms related to viruses, serums, toxins and analogous products. Questions may be directed to importpermit@cdc.gov or to APHIS/DASAT at 301-851-2070 or DASAT@usda.gov.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service recognized the U.K. and 21 EU member states as being free from the citrus longhorned beetle (CLB) and Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), according to a notice released June 11. As a result, APHIS is removing these countries from the list of countries where CLB and ALB are present. In addition to this change, the agency also said it is changing the entry conditions and relieving certain restrictions on imports of host plants of CLB and ALB into the U.S. from Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the U.K. The changes are effective June 12. Meanwhile, EU member states that continue to be listed as countries where ALB and/or CLB are present are: Austria, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany and Italy.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that the regions of Tuscany and Umbria in Italy are free of swine vesicular disease (SVD), it said in a notice released June 11. APHIS came to this conclusion following a risk evaluation and a public review and comment period. A final environmental assessment is also available related to this proceeding. As a result of this action, live swine, pork, and pork products may safely be imported into the U.S. from the regions of Tuscany and Umbria, Italy, subject to conditions in the regulations. The government of Italy had asked APHIS to evaluate the SVD disease status of the two regions. The determination is effective July 12.
Trade talks between the U.S. and Argentina this week covered customs facilitation, lithium and copper, and agricultural concerns on both sides.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.