The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow imports of litchi and longan fruit from Vietnam into the Continental U.S., it said in a final rule that takes effect Oct. 6. Importation of the fruit will be subject to certain conditions, including irradiation treatment, labeling, and a phytosanitary certificate from the Vietnamese government. Importation and distribution will not be allowed in the State of Florida, said APHIS.
The Sept. 2 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service proposal to allow the importation of chilled and frozen beef from Northern Argentina may put U.S. cattle at risk of foot-and-mouth disease contagion, said Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. “Allowing beef imports from the Patagonia region of Argentina would risk the spread of an extremely contagious livestock disease," said Cramer in a release, while urging public comment. "My concerns about this rule echo those of cattle ranchers across North Dakota who want to protect the health and safety of their herds." The North Dakota Stockmen’s Association earlier in 2014 said APHIS prepared the proposal with insufficient research, Cramer added. Through the proposal, APHIS also recognizes Northern Argentina region as free of rinderpest (see 14082901).
The U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council released on Aug. 29 its “Joint Forward Plan” on areas of future cooperation between the two countries’ governments. The Joint Forward Plan builds on a Joint Action Plan from 2011 that comprised 29 initiatives (see 11121316). The new document includes updates on each of the 29 initiatives announced in 2011, as well as lessons learned during the past three years and about 20 new and continued areas of regulatory cooperation.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to allow the importation of chilled and frozen beef from Northern Argentina. The proposed rule would adopt the requirements currently in place for fresh beef and ovine meat from Uruguay, including inspections, restrictions on the location where the animal is raised and contact with other animals. In the same proposed rule, APHIS is also recognizing the Northern Argentina region as free of rinderpest. Comments are due Oct. 28.
CBP's Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center hosted an Aug. 26 meeting between 11 federal agencies involved in the regulation of imports, said CBP in a press release. The meeting, "showcased CBP’s leading role in interagency coordination for protecting American consumers from dangerous imported products" and provided a forum for each partner government agency to present their top areas of import safety risk and their plans for addressing those risks through trade targeting operations in the coming year," said CBP.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Aug. 27 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 amending its fruits and vegetables regulations to recognize parts of Australia as free of certain plant pests. Effective Aug. 29, the APHIS final rule recognizes the Australian states of New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria as free of Mediterranean fruit fly. It also recognizes Western Australia as free of Queensland fruit fly.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is loosening restrictions on importing live ruminants and swine from a region in Argentina, in a final rule that takes effect Oct. 28. The final rule recognizes the Patagonia South and Patagonia North B regions as free of rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease. But APHIS is not completely getting rid of import restrictions on live swine and ruminants from Patagonia because of the region’s proximity to countries that are affected by the diseases, it said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Aug. 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 is proposing to allow imports of fresh citrus from areas of South Africa where citrus black spot has been known to occur. The proposed rule would allow imports of grapefruit, sweet oranges, mandarins, lemons and tangelos, subject to requirements for shipment traceability, packinghouse registration and procedures, and cold treatment. Citrus could only be imported in commercial consignments and would have to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate from the South African government. Comments are due Oct. 27.