USDA is increasing the FY 2023 tariff rate quota for raw cane sugar by 125,000 metric tons raw value, it said in a notice July 10. The increase brings the total FY23 TRQ, originally set at the 1,117,195 MTRV minimum mandated by the World Trade Organization, to 1,242,195 MTRV, USDA said. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will allocate the increase among supplying countries and customs areas. Raw cane sugar under this quota must be accompanied by a certificate for quota eligibility.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service plant inspection stations (PIS) will on Aug. 7 begin the use of entry status notifications to "communicate directly with filers," APHIS announced July 7. Filers no longer will receive an automated "may proceed" message, instead getting a message such as "Data Under Review," "Hold Intact" and "Data Rejected," APHIS said. Only after the inspection process is completed will filers receive a "May Proceed" message, APHIS said.
The Department of Agriculture announced the establishment of the tariff rate quotas for raw cane sugar and refined and specialty sugars (including syrups and molasses) for fiscal year 2024 (Oct. 1, 2023 - Sept. 30, 2024).
USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation announced June 29 that Special Import Quota #11 for upland cotton will be established July 6, allowing importation of 8,079,827 kilograms (37,110 bales ) of upland cotton. No quota was announced for the previous quote period. The quota will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Oct. 3, 2023, and entered into the U.S. by Jan. 1, 2024. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the February through April 2023 period, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is allowing imports of fresh leaves and stems of garland chrysanthemum (Glebionis coronarium) from Mexico, it said June 28. APHIS said “the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds,” APHIS said. Effective June 28, APHIS is allowing imports into the continental U.S., Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, subject to the phytosanitary requirements specified by the agency.
The Foreign Agricultural Service published a list of updated quantity trigger levels and applicable periods for products that may be subject to additional import duties under the safeguard provisions of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Agriculture.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow imports of Phalaenopsis orchids in approved growing media from Costa Roca into the continental U.S., it said in a notice released June 7. Imports will be subject to the general conditions for importing plants for planting in approved growing media, as well as specific requirements set in a joint U.S.-Costa Rica work plan, APHIS said. The final rule takes effect June 8.
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has posted a Cut Flower Name Validation List to its website for filers to verify spellings in the APHIS core partner government agency (PGA) message set. The list provides genus, species and subspecies names along with corresponding common names to be used in the ACE data elements, APHIS said in a May 30 news release. The list also provides acceptable spellings for listed names and the corresponding Integrated Taxonomic Information Systems (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN) and APHIS ID (APID) number, APHIS said. Software developers can download and integrate the PG10 category AP0800 cut flowers into the Automated Broker Interface software, which will help create a single standardized submission list for importers of cut flowers, the agency said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service intends to allow imports of fresh pumpkin, squash, and the interspecific hybrid tetsukabuto from Brazil into the continental U.S., it said in a notice released May 16. An agency pest risk analysis found “the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds,” APHIS said. Comments are due by July 17.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service proposed new procedures for amending import restrictions on cut flowers, and simultaneously proposed ending restrictions on cut flowers from countries that are hosts of chrysanthemum white rust. The agency’s proposal would use a notice-based process, rather than rulemaking, for amending cut flower import restrictions, similar to that adopted by APHIS for import restrictions on plants for planting. APHIS would also “remove entirely any restrictions on the importation of cut flowers of the genera Chrysanthemum, Leucanthemella, and Nipponanthemum from countries in which chrysanthemum white rust" is known to exist. Comments are due by June 16.