On June 22 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes June 21 to 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.
On June 21 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing to simplify 18 U.S. grade standards for canned vegetables by switching to from a “dual nomenclature” to a single grade nomenclature, it said (here). Under the proposed change, for example, “U.S. Fancy” and “U.S. Extra Standard” would be removed from the regulations, leaving only the terms “Grade A” and “Grade B” for these grades, respectively. The change would affect grade standards for asparagus, beets, carrots, chili sauce, cream corn, hominy, leafy greens, okra, okra and tomatoes, onions, peas and carrots, field and black-eye peas, pimientos, pumpkin, sauerkraut, spinach, summer squash and succotash. Comments are due Aug. 16.
On June 20 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Agricultural Marketing Service on June 15 issued a final rule setting new late payment fees and interest charges on late assessments from importers and domestic producers under the Christmas tree marketing order (here). Under the order, which took effect in April 2014, importers and domestic producers of 500 or more Christmas trees must pay an assessment. AMS will impose a $250 late fee on assessments not received within 30 calendar days of the date they are due, increasing to $500 after 90 days, as well as 1.5 percent interest until payment is received. The final rule took effect June 16.
On June 17 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
On June 16 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Special Import Quota #19 for upland cotton will be established on June 23, allowing importation of 14,671,661 kilograms (67,386 bales) of upland cotton (here). It will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Sept. 20 and entered into the U.S. by Dec. 19. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the period February through April, the most recent three months for which data are available.
The Agricultural Marketing Service issued a final rule to end a de minimis exemption from marketing order assessments on importers of cotton (here). Under the agency’s rule, importers of cotton would no longer be exempt from paying assessments when the total assessed on any entry line is $2 or less. AMS said the exemption was originally put in place because the cost of collecting assessments was sometimes greater than the amount collected, but automation and other changes have decreased collection costs. The change is effective July 15