USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is reducing trade restrictions on unvaccinated live poultry imports from France and unvaccinated live ducks from the European Poultry Trade (EPTR) region and from the countries of Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Norway, it said in a Jan. 16 release.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is a USDA agency responsible for protecting animal and plant health and welfare. APHIS protects U.S. plants, wildlife, and agriculture from invasive plants, animals, and diseases. To facilitate this, APHIS works with CBP to regulate the import and export of animals, animal products, and plants.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will be ensuring that imports of horses, ruminants, swine and dogs from certain Central American countries are not carrying screwworm, a type of pest.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is seeking comment on a pest risk analysis that it has made on the risks associated with importing fresh rhizomes of wasabi, Eutrema japonicum (Miq.) Koidz. (Brassicaceae), for consumption from Indonesia into the U.S., it said in a Federal Register notice.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service collected nearly $2 million in penalties in fiscal year 2024, according to a Jan. 10 summary detailing APHIS activities last year.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is restricting imports of live animal commodities originating from or transiting through Belize, after detecting New World screwworm in cattle in the country, USDA said in a news release Jan. 7.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will be adjusting user fee rates for the costs of providing veterinary diagnostic goods and services and veterinary services for imports and exports of live animals and animal products. The new user fee rates go into effect Jan. 10, APHIS said in a Federal Register notice.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is seeking comment on its pest risk analysis that looked at the ability to import fresh pineapple fruit (Ananas comosus) for consumption from Indonesia while also preventing the introduction of plant pests or noxious weeds. APHIS determined that one or more phytosanitary measures could be sufficient to prevent the importation of pests or noxious weeds, according to a notice. Comments on the phytosanitary measures are due by Feb. 28.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is allowing imports of fresh rosemary and tarragon from Ethiopia, effective Dec. 20, according to a notice. "Based on findings of pest risk analyses, which we made available to the public for review and comment through a previous notice, we have determined that 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 via the importation of rosemary and tarragon from Ethiopia," APHIS said. The change applies to the importation of leaves and stems of rosemary and tarragon.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is restricting imports of animal commodities originating from or transiting through El Salvador, after detecting New World screwworm in cattle in the country, USDA announced in a news release Dec. 17.
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to make sure that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service doesn't prematurely end its ban on livestock imports from Mexico.