U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is threatening to restrict animal imports originating or transiting Mexico starting on April 30 if the country doesn't follow through with plans to work with the U.S. government to eradicate the New World screwworm, a pest that can infest livestock, according to an April 26 letter published on USDA's website.
Starting April 23, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow the importation of fresh rhizomes of wasabi (Eutrema japonicum) from Indonesia, it said in a notice.
USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service will impose an additional safeguard duty on certain sugars, syrups and molasses that fall under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, it said in a Federal Register notice.
Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 8 pressed Stephen Vaden, nominee for USDA deputy secretary, on how President Donald Trump's slew of tariff action will impact USDA and agriculture issues.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins is planning to visit six countries in the coming months as part of an "aggressive" effort to "expand markets and boost American agricultural exports," the agency said last week. Rollins will travel to Vietnam, Japan, India, Peru, Brazil and the U.K. She's also scheduling trade missions to Hong Kong, the Dominican Republic, Taiwan, Cote d’Ivoire and Mexico.
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service informed the Office of Management and Budget that it is seeking to continue its information collection regarding importing and transporting meat, poultry and egg products. No changes will be made to the existing information collection, which will expire June 30.
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service has delayed the effective date of a final rule that amended regulations related to organic mushrooms and organic pet food, according to a Federal Register notice.
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service has delayed the effective date of a final rule that amended regulations related to paper and paper-based packaging, according to a Federal Register notice.
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said over the weekend that it is now allowing cattle and bison imports from Mexico after the agency halted imports in November 2024 when it detected the presence of new world screwworm (NWS) in southern Mexico.
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service is delaying the effective date, originally set for Jan. 27, of a final rule on certain fees related to Section 8e import inspections, in response to a Jan. 20 presidential directive calling for federal agencies to further scrutinize new regulations, it said in a Federal Register notice.