Until further notice, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is restricting the importation of animal commodities originating from or transiting Costa Rica based on the diagnosis of New World screwworm in a dog. The restrictions vary based on the animal: APHIS prohibits the [...]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing to significantly increase the fees for its AQI program, which assures that cargo and passenger baggage entering the country is inspected for plant pests and potential sources of animal diseases that could affect U.S. agriculture, trade [...]
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued two final rules to codify the bans on inclined sleeps for infants and crib bumpers that Congress established in the Safe Sleep for Babies Act. The Act prohibits importing these products into the U.S., along with their sale, manufacture, and distribution. The [...]
The supplemental assessment fee on imported cotton is set to increase by more than 11% as of October 16, 2023 through a new Final Rule issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) The rule will increase the supplemental assessment on imported cotton from $0.013215 per kilogram [...]
The National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) has updated the list of nations identified as being involved with illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, bycatch, and shark catch. A negative certification from the NOAA may result in fishing vessels of that nation being denied U.S. port access, and potential [...]
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is amending the import regulations for horses. The amendments are intended to better align US regulations with international standards, allow more flexibility for importing, and add further safeguards to protect against the introduction of pests or diseases [...]
Taking no chances with what appears to be increasingly likely a federal government shutdown starting Oct. 1, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) is leading an effort among 40 other trade associations to develop a comprehensive strategy with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other Partner [...]
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is proposing a new Rule to establish a formal safety standard for the manufacture and import of baby and baby/toddler rockers. The ASTM standard F3084–22 defines an infant rocker as a “freestanding product intended to support an occupant who has not developed the ability [...]
The Department of Commerce and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have issued a Notice extending the exemption period for the import provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), which affects the import of fish and fish products, for another two years until Dec. 31, 2025. The Import Provisions section [...]
President Biden has announced that effective Jan. 1, 2024, the U.S. will reinstate African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program benefits for Mauritania, and terminate benefits for four countries: Gabon, Niger, the Central African Republic, and Uganda. The AGOA provides duty-free treatment to goods of designated sub-Saharan African [...]
