On Jan. 16, the FDA posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
A scheduled FDA upgrade of its import operations database will lead to an outage from 10 p.m. Jan. 20 to 5 a.m. Jan. 21 EST, CBP said Jan. 17. This will affect the Interoperability Web Service (IWS), the FDA Import Trade Auxiliary Communications Systems (ITACS) and prior notice applications, except the Prior Notice System Interface (PNSI), the agency said in a CSMS message.
The FDA posted a document showing the information needed "for successful filing of Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS) products," CBP said in a CSMS message Jan. 17. The information needs to be provided to the customs broker on the shipment in order to avoid a delay of an FDA admissibility determination, CBP said. "*Please share this resource with your customs broker," the FDA said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service intends to allow imports of fresh thyme, marjoram and oregano from Kenya, it said in a notice Jan. 17. An agency pest risk analysis found “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” with the importation of the fresh herbs, APHIS said. If APHIS finalizes the decision, it will allow imports into the U.S., subject to the phytosanitary requirements specified by the agency. Comments will be accepted through March 18.
Both Asian countries and American businesses had hoped that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework could be a step on the road to lowering tariffs, trade experts said during a webinar on the future of IPEF, but now they're wondering if there will be any economically significant effect at all from talks about trade facilitation, green transition and supply chain resilience.
Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., reintroduced a bill that would add digital trade policies to the eligibility criteria for the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program. He first introduced the bill in 2021 (see 2105100012).
The House of Representatives voted 403-9 to create a position of global trade specialist, consolidating several existing positions, including import specialist and drawback specialist.
Carlton Llewellyn, former senior executive at cargo airline Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, pleaded guilty on Jan. 16 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of a scheme to defraud the airline, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced. The count comes with a maximum five-year prison stint, and in addition, Llewellyn agreed to pay $347,879.44 in forfeiture and a restitution payment of $305,800 to Polar. Sentencing is scheduled for May 7.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website Jan. 16, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADCVD Search page.