The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Jan. 7 that Special Import Quota #12 for upland cotton will be established on Jan. 14, allowing importation of 8,893,540 kilograms (40,847 bales) of upland cotton, up from 8,108,926 kilograms (37,244 bales) in the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than April 13, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by July 12, 2021. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the August 2020 through October 2020 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Dec. 31 that Special Import Quota #11 for upland cotton will be established Jan. 7, allowing importation of 8,108,926 kilograms (37,244 bales) of upland cotton, the same as the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than April 6, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by July 5, 2021. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the July 2020 through September 2020 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Dec. 24 that Special Import Quota #10 for upland cotton will be established Dec. 31, allowing importation of 8,108,926 kilograms (37,244 bales) of upland cotton, the same as the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than March 30, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by June 28, 2021. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the July 2020 through September 2020 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The Agriculture Department seeks comments on regulations it is considering on the movement, including importation, of animals modified or developed by genetic engineering. The Dec. 28 advance notice of proposed rulemaking contemplates that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service would conduct assessments of genetically engineered animals, and the Food Safety and Inspection Service would conduct pre-slaughter inspections. Importation and interstate movement would subject to permitting requirements, it says. USDA’s approach would be similar to recent regulations on the movement of genetically engineered plants (see 2005180023), with some differences, the ANPRM says. Comments are due Feb. 26.
Mandatory filing in ACE of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s “Core” partner government agency (PGA) message set begins Jan. 25, 2021, but the agency “strongly recommends” that filers begin using it now, APHIS said in an email sent Dec. 21. APHIS has uploaded a series of six webinars on the PGA message set to its website, covering “a wide range of APHIS-regulated products, including fresh fruits and vegetables, cut flowers, animal products, miscellaneous and processed products, seeds not for planting, and plants for planting as well as a general overview of the APHIS Core message set,” it said. “In addition, we recently posted APHIS Core Message Set Questions and Answers, which covers some of the most commonly asked questions about submitting an APHIS Core Message Set,” the agency said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Dec. 17 that Special Import Quota #9 for upland cotton will be established Dec. 24, allowing importation of 8,108,926 kilograms (37,244 bales) of upland cotton, the same as the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than March 23, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by June 21, 2021. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the July 2020 through September 2020 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to allow imports of citrus fruit from additional regions in Australia, it said in a notice released Dec. 16. The agency intends to allow in citrus fruits from the inland region of Queensland, the shires of Bourke and Narromine in New South Wales, and all of Western Australia, in addition to the already authorized regions of Riverina in New South Wales, the Riverland region of South Australia and Northwest Victoria's Sunraysia region. Imports from the three new regions will still require treatment in some cases, and must be accompanied by phytosanitary certificates. Comments are due to APHIS by Feb. 15, 2021.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service set Jan. 1, 2024, as the uniform compliance date for any new meat and poultry product labeling regulations issued Jan. 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2022, in a final rule released Dec. 15. FSIS periodically announces uniform compliance dates for new meat and poultry product labeling regulations to minimize the economic impact of label changes. Comments on the final rule are due by Jan. 15, 2021.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Dec. 10 that Special Import Quota #8 for upland cotton will be established Dec. 17, allowing importation of 8,108,926 kilograms (37,244 bales) of upland cotton, the same as the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than March 16, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by June 14, 2021. CCC had announced Special Import Quota #7 on Dec. 3. Established Dec. 10, the quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than March 9, and entered into the U.S. by June 7. The quotas are equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the July 2020 through September 2020 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Nov. 27 that Special Import Quota #6 for upland cotton will be established Dec. 3, allowing importation of 8,108,926 kilograms (37,244 bales) of upland cotton, the same as the previous quota period (see 2011200021). The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than March 2, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by May 31, 2021. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the July 2020 through September 2020 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.