The Agricultural Marketing Service is working toward mandatory ACE electronic filing requirements for organic food imports, according to an emailed update from the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. An upcoming proposed rule will “require a new electronic import certification to be transmitted through ACE for organic food or feed for humans and animals,” the NCBFAA said. Pilot testing of the new requirements is expected to begin in early 2020, it said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to loosen requirements on importation of bovines and bovine products from Ecuador and Serbia, it said in a notice. APHIS intends to reclassify Ecuador as having controlled risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and Serbia as having negligible risk, concurring with recommendations recently issued by the World Organization for Animal Health, the agency said. Neither country is currently classified as having controlled or negligible risk of BSE. Comments are due Dec. 24.
The Agricultural Marketing Service is withdrawing a proposal to end exemptions from inspection requirements for table grapes imported during part of the year. Currently, during the "regulatory period" of April 10 through July 10, imported shipments of Vitis vinifera table grape varieties must be inspected for size, quality and other requirements. The 2017 AMS proposal would have ended existing exemptions from those requirements for four varieties of grapes -- The Emperor, Calmeria, Almeria and Ribier -- and 16 other genetically related grape varieties. AMS is withdrawing the proposal in response to comments it received, the agency said.
The Agricultural Marketing Service is finalizing changes to its National List of substances allowed and prohibited in organic products, it said. The agency's final rule adds elemental sulfur for use as a molluscicide in organic crop production and polyoxin D zinc salt to control fungal diseases in organic crop production, and reclassifies magnesium chloride from an allowed synthetic to an allowed nonsynthetic ingredient in organic handling. The changes take effect Nov. 22.
The Agricultural Marketing Service is amending the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations to increase the value assigned to imported cotton for the purposes of calculating supplemental assessments on imports collected under the Cotton Research and Promotion Program. The revised value in the direct final rule is $0.012222, an increase of $0.000317 per kilogram. The increase reflects a rise in the average price of Upland cotton received by U.S. farmers during the period January through December 2018. AMS's notice also includes a table of adjusted assessments corresponding to each Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading for which they are due. The changes take effect Dec. 16, unless adverse comments are received by Nov. 14.
The Agricultural Marketing Service amending its U.S. Standards for Grades of Apples to remove smooth net-like russeting as a grade-determining factor in the U.S. Extra Fancy, U.S. Fancy and U.S. No. 1 grades for Fuji apples, it said. The final rule also removes obsolete references to the location where color standards may be examined and purchased, AMS said. The changes also affect the grade requirements under the Export Apple Act.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service posted a list of frequently asked questions on recent changes to import requirements for tomato and pepper seeds. According to the FAQ, tomato and pepper seed shipments that don’t have a phytosanitary certificate with an additional statement related to pospiviroid pathogens are being refused entry as of Sept. 8, 2019.
The Agricultural Marketing Service is ending its promotion, research and information order for processed raspberries, it said in a final rule. A majority of domestic producers and importers of processed raspberries voted to terminate the order in a referendum held in 2018. AMS already ended assessments of 1 cent per pound on imports and domestically produced processed raspberries in February (see 1902190023).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to loosen restrictions on importation of sand pears from Japan, it said in a notice. While APHIS currently only allows importation of sand pears from a few Japanese prefectures, the agency is now proposing to allow imports from all of Japan, except for Amami, Bonin, Ryukyu, Tokara, and Volcano Islands. APHIS would also eliminate a requirement for an additional declaration on phytosanitary certificates that the sand pears have been inspected and found free of certain pests. Comments are due Nov. 22.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is adding Hong Kong, Laos and North Korea to its list of regions subject to import restrictions on pork and pork products because they are affected by African swine fever, it said. Restrictions take effect retroactively to July 15, 2019, for Hong Kong, to July 5, 2019, for Laos, and to June 5, 2019, for North Korea.