CBP is seeking participants in a new working group to inform its development of the Automated Commercial Environment for non-Lacey Act commodities regulated by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The working group will comprise members of APHIS-related industry, software developers, and APHIS and CBP representatives, said CBP in a CSMS message (here). Participants will review data elements required in the APHIS partner government agency message set in ACE, as well as the impact of the transition to ACE on business processes. The working group will hold two three-hour conference calls per week for four weeks. Importers and software developers interested in participating should email the relevant CBP and trade community working group leads by April 16, said CBP (here).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes April 6 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 three new members of its Phytosanitary Issues Management team (here). Hesham Abuelnaga will be Trade Director for Africa and the Middle East; Wenbin Li for China, Taiwan, and Pakistan; and. Prakash Hebbar for India, Japan, Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The PIM team consists of 20 members, including 12 trade directors, who are the “primary point of contact for communications with foreign national plant protection organizations concerning phytosanitary issues impacting safe agricultural trade,” said APHIS.
The Mexican delegation to the World Trade Organization expressed “concern” over a year-old Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service proposal for new quarantine fees during a WTO committee meeting on sanitary and phytosanitary measures in recent days (here). APHIS proposed the Agricultural Quarantine inspection fee hikes in April 2014, the first increase in nearly a decade (see 14042321). Mexican officials argued the proposal would raise inspection fees by more than 200% for trucks and other modes of transport, the WTO said. The hikes would also violate global sanitary and phytosanitary trade rules, said Mexico, according to the WTO statement. “The US responded that the fee hike was still under review and that it would take into account Mexico's concerns,” the WTO said. Importers and lawmakers have also denounced the hikes (see 1503200029).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes March 30 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 March 26 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 eliminate a 60-day quarantine requirement for horses, mules and other equines imported from Saudi Arabia, after finding the country free of African Horse Sickness (here). The quarantine requirement remains in effect for all other countries where AHS is present, including all African countries except Morocco, and Oman and Yemen.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced its decisions to allow imports of figs and tejocote fruit from Mexico into the continental U.S., in two notices that take effect March 30 (here) and (here). Imported figs will have to undergo irradiation treatment in either the U.S. or Mexico and be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate, said APHIS. Imported tejocote will have to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate that says it has been inspected and is free of pests.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes March 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 U.S. and Canada are working on two new initiatives to streamline trade in plant products between the two countries, said the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in a stakeholder update sent on March 23 (here). One project aims to allow quarantine to take place in Canada for plant taxa that have post-entry quarantine conditions for importation into the United States. A second initiative would implement a mechanism to allow for the electronic exchange of phytosanitary certificates under the “e-Cert” data exchange program.