The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails July 5 announcing changes to some Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service revised export requirements and plant lists for the following countries for June 30 - July 6:
The North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO) is seeking comments on three regional standards, said the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The regional standards, and their deadlines for comments, are as follows:
Although registration for the 2012 Agriculture Stakeholder Conference: Pests, Pathways, and Partnerships has officially closed, a live webcast will be made available for those who cannot attend, said the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The conference, which is to discuss the future of Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI) initiatives and to garner input on how CBP and APHIS can better serve stakeholder needs, will be offered via live webcast on July 17 and 18. More details on how to sign up for the webcast are available here. For a copy of this message, email documents@brokerpower.com.
The International Trade Administration announced a renewable energy trade mission to the Philippines and Thailand Sept. 17-20 to give U.S. companies a timely and cost-effective way to engage with key stakeholders, government officials and potential partners in an effort to enter the promising Philippines and Thailand markets. Target sectors for potential U.S. exports include biomass/waste-to-energy/biogas, geothermal, hydropower, wind power, and solar power. The mission will include meetings with high-level national government officials, one-on-one meetings with potential partners and industry leaders, briefings on the Philippine and Thailand markets, site visits, and additional meetings with members of the Asia Development Bank, the ITA said. Recruitment for the mission will begin immediately and conclude no later than July 13, 2012. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning in June 2012 until 10-20 participants are selected.
The International Trade Administration announced an infrastructure business development trade mission to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Jakarta, Indonesia November 11-17 to help participants gain first-hand market knowledge and establish business contacts with senior decision makers. The trade mission will be comprised of representatives from U.S. companies that provide state-of-the-art market services and technology to sectors critical to infrastructure development, including the energy, aviation, environmental technology, and architecture, construction, and engineering sectors. In each city, participants will receive market briefings and meet with key government decision makers and prospective private sector partners during customized, one-on-one meetings, the ITA said. Recruitment for the mission will begin immediately and conclude no later than August 31, 2012, by the close of business. Applications will be vetted on a rolling basis starting July 5, 2012 until 15-25 participants are selected.
The AESDirect system will be down July 14 from 1 to 5 a.m., and again July 15 from 1 to 5 a.m., for required system maintenance, the Census Bureau said in AES Broadcast # 2012042. As such, the AESDirect system will not be available for EEI filing. Census said exporters should file their shipments prior to these outages if possible.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a final rule, effective July 9 that amends the Export Administration Regulations to (1) change the names of existing Validated End-Users1 Hynix Semiconductor China Ltd. and Hynix Semiconductor (Wuxi) Ltd. and their respective “Eligible destinations” in China; and (2) change the list of “Eligible items (by ECCN)” that may be exported, reexported and transferred (in-country) to the approved facility of VEU Boeing Tianjin Composites Co. Ltd. (BTC) in China. These changes are prompted by factors arising from the companies’ normal course of business, and are not the result of any activities of concern by the companies, BIS said.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to CBP's web site as of July 5, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching on the listed CBP message number at http://addcvd.cbp.gov. (CBP occasionally adds backdated messages without otherwise indicating which message was added. ITT will include a message date in parentheses in such cases.)
CBP posted a document to its website that provides side-by-side comparisons of the following 18 U.S. free trade agreements and preferential trade programs: NAFTA; Chile (CFTA); Singapore (SFTA); Australia (AFTA); Israel (ILFTA); Jordan (JFTA); Bahrain (BFTA); Morocco (MFTA); Oman (OFTA); Central America-Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR); Peru (PTPA); Korea (UKFTA); Colombia (CTPA); Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA); Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA); Generalized System of Preferences (GSP); African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA); Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA); and Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA).