The Agricultural Marketing Service is amending its regulations on the beef promotion and research order to increase fee assessments on importers of veal and veal products, and to update the table of Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) numbers subject to importer assessments, it said (here). The final rule takes effect June 29.
The Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing to continue its 15 million board feet de minimis threshold under the softwood lumber information order, it said (here). As provided in the 2011 final rule creating the softwood lumber order (see 11080216), importers that import less than 15 million board feet of softwood lumber are exempt from assessments, as long as they apply annually for a certificate of exemption and provide documentation to support their request. A federal court in 2016 struck down the 15 million board foot threshold, finding the number arbitrary, but left the softwood lumber regulations in place while AMS reconsiders. AMS is now proposing to keep the same threshold, but providing further analysis. Comments are due July 31.
The Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation on May 25 announced Special Import Quota #5 for upland cotton will be established on June 1, allowing importation of 13,588,518 kilograms (62,411 bales) of upland cotton (here). It will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Aug. 29, 2017, and entered into the U.S. by Nov. 27, 2017. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the period December 2016 through February 2017, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing to relax minimum quality and handling standards for domestic and imported peanuts, it said (here). The AMS proposed rule would “relax the allowance for damaged kernels in farmers stock peanuts when determining segregation,” AMS said. The change was recommended by the Peanut Standards Board, it said. Comments are due June 26.
The Agricultural Marketing Service is amending the U.S. Standards for Grades of Cauliflower to allow all colors of cauliflower to be certified to a U.S. grade, it said (here). The agency is also adding marking requirements and allowing certification to a grade for curd sizes less than four inches in diameter, and removing references to an unclassified category of cauliflower, it said. The changes take effect June 26.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is prohibiting the entry of all fresh cherries from the Canadian province of Ontario, effective immediately, it said in a federal order dated May 23 (here). The agency is taking the action because of multiple detections of the European cherry fruit fly in the province, it said. The prohibition covers imports of black cherry, mahaleb cherry, sour cherry and sweet cherry, as well as wild fruits of the genera Prunus and Lonicera, APHIS said. Imports from all Canadian provinces other than Ontario are still allowed, but must have their origin verified by shipping documents (such as a bill of lading) or “other proof of origin acceptable to APHIS,” it said. Cherries that have been frozen, canned, cooked, dehydrated, jellied, juiced or pickled are also still allowed from all Canadian provinces, APHIS said in an emailed update (here).
The Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation on May 18 announced Special Import Quota #4 for upland cotton will be established on May 25, allowing importation of 13,588,518 kilograms (62,411 bales) of upland cotton (here). It will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Aug. 22, 2017, and entered into the U.S. by Nov. 20, 2017. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the period December 2016 through February 2017, the most recent three months for which data is available.
The Commodity Credit Corporation is accepting applications for programs designed to promote U.S. agricultural exports. Applications may be submitted by Aug. 15 for fiscal year 2018 funding under the following programs administered by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS):
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will hold three public meetings in June to discuss its proposed changes to regulations on importation, interstate movement and release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms, it said (here). The proposed rule, issued in January (see 1701180058), would modify current definitions of what is a GE organism, as well as the criteria used by APHIS to judge whether it regulates GE organisms based on the risk of introduction of plant pests or noxious weeds. Time-limited import permits would be eliminated, as would current notification procedures. The meetings will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 6, Davis, California, on June 13, and Riverdale, Maryland, on June 16. Comments on the proposed changes are due June 19 (see 1702090017).
Drastic changes at the U.S. Department Agriculture's National Organic Program are needed in response to the cheap imports improperly being labeled as organic, the Cornucopia Institute said in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue (here). The letter followed a May 12 article in The Washington Post (here) that examined imported agricultural products labeled "USDA Organic" even though the products may not have met requirements for such a label. Cornucopia, which describes itself as a "national nonprofit farm research organization," called for replacing USDA Deputy Administrator Miles McEvoy, who oversees the NOP. "The next organic scandal is already at the door: the flood of foreign hydroponic imports that are illegal to sell as organic in their country of origin but are being sold in the U.S. as certified organic produce -- even though the U.S. organic standards clearly requires soil stewardship as a prerequisite for organic certification," Cornucopia said. "These foreign imports are already forcing domestic farmers in the Northeast out of retail markets for their produce grown in American soil." The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service didn't immediately comment.