The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is allowing imports of fresh pineapple fruit (Ananas comosus) for consumption from Indonesia into the U.S., it said in a Federal Register notice. The change is effective May 29. The agency made its decision following a pest risk analysis that determined that the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures would be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds.
The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service is removing requirements governing the mandatory inspection and pesticide testing for imported tobacco that were established under the Tobacco Adjustment Act of 1983, as the requirements reflect obsolete business practices, it said in a notice released May 27.
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is reopening a comment period for two notices: a pest risk analysis to import Chrysanthemum spp., synonymous genera cuttings and in vitro plantlets into the U.S., and an economic evaluation on regulating chrysanthemum white rust as a quarantine pest.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins announced May 11 that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is working with CBP to suspend the import of live cattle, horse and bison at U.S. ports of entry along the Mexico border because of the detected spread of the new world screwworm (NWS).
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that officials in Mexico and at USDA have reached an agreement on efforts to prevent the spread of the New World screwworm, avoiding U.S. restrictions on animal imports from Mexico (see 2504280034).
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.