USDA, Other Regulatory Agencies List Plans to Trade-Related Regulations in Unified Agenda
Federal agencies with a hand in regulating trade released their regulatory schedules as part of the Spring 2016 Unified Agenda (here). Alongside customs regulations set for publication by the Treasury Department (see 1605230009 and Department of Homeland Security 1605190046), the Department of Agriculture and National Marine Fisheries Service set an ambitious agenda of trade-related rulemaking, including new seafood permit and filing requirements and Lacey Act forfeiture regulations. Other agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and EPA, continue to list regulations on drug imports and formaldehyde standards that have been in the pipeline for years without activity, scheduling their publication with the next several months.
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USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service plans to finalize revised procedures for forfeiture under the Endangered Species Act and Lacey Act, according to the USDA agenda (here). Scheduled for publication in May, the final rule follows a May 2013 proposal that would increase the threshold for referral to federal court and provide for recovery of costs related to APHIS storage of seized merchandise (see 13052022).
USDA again lists an APHIS final rule eliminating an exemption for Canadian wood packaging materials from normal treatment and marking requirements, this time for publication in September. Recently, trade groups pushed APHIS to drop that rulemaking (see 1604050020). The agency’s spring agenda also continues to list a proposed overhaul of plant pest regulations for publication in July, and says APHIS plans to propose regulations on the importation of genetically engineered organisms in September. Meanwhile, the Foreign Agricultural Service plans in July to issue a final rule clarifying the administration of its Refund of Duties Paid on Imports of Certain Wool Products Program, said the agenda.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is set to finalize recently proposed regulations on import permits and filing procedures, according to the Commerce Department’s agenda (here). A final rule to create a new consolidated International Fisheries Trade Permit (see 1512300015) is scheduled for publication in July, followed closely in August by a final rule implementing new ACE filing and recordkeeping requirements for imports of high-risk seafood (see 1602040020). The agency also plans to issue a final rule in August to ban imports from countries that don’t do enough to prevent bycatch (see 1508100010).
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department also plans to issue a proposed rule to provide for electronic filing in the International Trade Data System of importer reimbursement certificates for products subject to antidumping and countervailing duties, in a proposed rule set for publication in May, it said in the agenda.
The Energy Department’s agenda (here) still lists a controversial proposal to create new ACE filing requirements for products subject to energy efficiency standards (see 1512290020). Now out for comment for the third time (see 1605130022), the rulemaking is still listed at the “proposed” stage, with no timeline for final action scheduled. DOE’s agenda also includes a litany of final rules setting new energy efficiency standards for refrigeration products, fans and blowers, dehumidifiers, commercial package air conditioners and heaters, warm air furnaces, non-weatherized gas furnaces, battery chargers, dishwashers, ceiling fans, hearth products and central air conditioners and heat pumps.
The Environmental Protection Agency continues to list in its agenda (here) final rules setting formaldehyde emissions standards for composite wood products and reporting and recordkeeping requirements for chemicals imported as nanoscale materials, for publication in July and October, respectively.
Its Food Safety Modernization Act regulations largely behind it, FDA’s agenda (here) includes several previously listed rules with an impact on international trade. Again listed are final rules to amend regulations on registration of food facilities, including by setting U.S. agent confirmation procedures (see 1504080017), as well as human and animal drug establishments (see 06110320). FDA also plans to issue regulations requiring registration and listing for foreign manufacturers of tobacco products, it said. Regulations establishing licensing requirements for drug wholesalers and “third-party logistics providers,” required by the Drug Supply Chain Security Act by Nov. 27, 2015, are scheduled in FDA’s agenda for publication in December.