The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service released on Nov. 25 a notice listing ongoing international sanitary and phytosanitary standard-setting activities of the World Organization for Animal Health, the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention and the North American Plant Protection Organization. Comments on the standards being considered may be submitted at any time, APHIS said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Nov. 19 that Special Import Quota #5 for upland cotton will be established Nov. 26, allowing importation of 8,108,926 kilograms (37,244 bales) of upland cotton, the same as the previous quota period (see 2011130006). The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Feb. 23, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by May 24, 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 Nov. 12 that Special Import Quota #4 for upland cotton will be established Nov. 19, allowing importation of 8,108,926 kilograms (37,244 bales) of upland cotton, an increase from 5,551,846 kilograms (25,499 bales) in the previous quota period (see 2011060010). The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Feb. 16, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by May 17, 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 Nov. 5 that Special Import Quota #3 for upland cotton will be established Nov. 12, allowing importation of 5,551,846 kilograms (25,499 bales) of upland cotton, the same as for the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Feb. 9, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by May 10, 2021. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the May 2020 through July 2020 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow imports of cold-treated citrus fruit from South Africa into all U.S. ports, it said in a notice released Nov. 4. Previously, citrus from South Africa was allowed into only four U.S. ports with cold treatment facilities, the agency said. The change takes effect Nov. 5.
Dairy imports from the United Kingdom will continue to fall into the European Union’s allocations for tariff-rate quotas in the 2021 quota year, the Foreign Agricultural Service said in a notice released Nov. 3. But unlike in past years, the U.K. will designate importers to receive import licenses, rather than the EU, FAS said. According to FAS, the EU says “that it no longer has the authority to designate importers on behalf of UK exporters for trade transactions that will occur after December 31, 2020,” when the Brexit transition period is set to end.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Oct. 29 that Special Import Quota #2 for upland cotton will be established Nov. 5, allowing importation of 5,551,846 kilograms (25,499 bales) of upland cotton, the same as for the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Feb. 2, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by May 3, 2021. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the May 2020 through July 2020 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service intends to remove restrictions on the importation of poultry from the Neuchatel and Ticino cantons of Switzerland, it said in a notice published Oct. 26. After having announced the restrictions in 2017 following detection in the cantons of Newcastle disease, APHIS has now reassessed the cantons and found that they have effectively controlled and eradicated the poultry virus. “Based on the results of the reassessment, APHIS recommends reinstating the Cantons Neuchatel and Ticino onto the list of regions in which ND is not known to exist,” it said. Comments are due Dec. 28.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corp. announced Oct. 22 that Special Import Quota #1 for upland cotton will be established Oct. 29, allowing importation of 5,551,846 kilograms (25,499 bales) of upland cotton, the same as for the previous quota period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Jan. 26, 2021, and entered into the U.S. by April 26, 2021. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the May 2020 through July 2020 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture revised the appendices to its Dairy Tariff-Rate Quota Import Licensing Regulation for the 2020 tariff-rate quota year, it said in a notice released Oct. 23. USDA is making the changes to reflect the cumulative annual transfers from Appendix 1 to Appendix 2 for certain dairy product import licenses permanently surrendered by licensees or revoked by the Foreign Agricultural Service.