The most recent semiannual regulatory agendas issued by federal agencies list the following regulations affecting international trade that could be issued within the next year (short-term) or more (long-term).
Short-term actions
- a Department of Agriculture proposed rule to establish a notice-based process for changes to regulations that prohibit the importation of green, unroasted coffee beans into Hawaii and Puerto Rico
- a State Department proposed rule to remove from the U.S. Munitions List items that no longer warrant inclusion and add items that do
- a Food and Drug Administration final rule to require import filers to submit the FDA premarket application number for electronic nicotine delivery systems products in the Automated Commercial Environment at the time of entry (proposed rule issued in August 2024)
- a USDA proposed rule to update the criteria used to evaluate whether a foreign country is eligible to export meat, poultry, or egg products to the U.S.
- an FDA direct final rule to expand the exemption from drug establishment registration to all manufacturers, repackers, relabelers, or salvagers of Type B and C medicated feeds
- a USDA proposed rule to align the minimum maturation temperature for fresh (chilled or frozen) boneless beef and ovine meat from regions or countries affected with foot-and-mouth disease with international standards and current scientific understanding
- a USDA proposed rule to reduce the time period within which live birds and other avian commodities could not be exposed to highly pathogenic avian influenza immediately preceding export to the U.S.
- a Treasury Department proposed rule to recognize certain alcohol beverage product names as limited to products manufactured in Japan
- an FDA final rule to require front-of-food labels to display certain nutrition information (proposed rule issued in January 2025)
- a USDA final rule removing entirely any restrictions on the importation of cut flowers of the genera Chrysanthemum, Leucanthemella, and Nipponanthemum from countries in which chrysanthemum white rust is known to exist
- a USDA final rule removing the requirement that horses offered for importation be accompanied by documentation of pre-export examination occurring within 48 hours of departure from the port of embarkation endorsed by a salaried veterinary medical officer
- a Fish and Wildlife Service proposed rule to revise regulations governing the importation and exportation of wildlife, including streamlining the import and export process through a unified government filing system, extending permit validity, expanding import options beyond designated ports, clarifying language related to declaration and clearance requirements, streamlining marking requirements, and enhancing monitoring of certain wildlife shipments
- a Drug Enforcement Administration proposed rule to extend the time allowed for reexports of controlled substances outside of the European Economic Area (currently, 180 days from the date of the original release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
- a State Department proposed rule to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations by improving clarity in the process of assessing whether an article or service is described on the USML, revising the definitions of significant military equipment and technical data, restructuring the USML with separate defense services and technical data paragraphs, and making other corrections and clarifications
- a State Department interim final rule to describe more precisely the launch vehicles, ballistic missiles, and other items in Category IV of the USML and spacecraft and related items in Category XV of the USML that warrant control on the USML
- an FDA proposed rule to clarify that the drug establishment registration and drug listing requirements are applicable to foreign drug manufacturing establishments that do not directly import or offer for import drugs into the U.S. but are still involved in the manufacture of drugs that are imported or offered for import into the U.S.
Long-term actions
- a USDA proposed rule to add restrictions on the importation from all countries of aquatic animal species susceptible to the tilapia lake virus
- a USDA proposed rule allowing the importation of swine casings from regions where African swine fever exists under certain conditions
- a State Department final rule to clarify the definitions of “export” and “reexport” and revise the exemption for intra-company, intra-organization, and intra-governmental transfers to dual or third-country nationals (proposed rule issued February 2022)
- a State Department final rule to (a) create definitions for activities that are not exports, re-exports, or retransfers, (b) remove from ITAR licensing requirements the electronic transmission and storage of unclassified technical data via foreign communications infrastructure when the data is secured sufficiently to prevent access by foreign persons, and (c) create a definition for “access information” and revise the definition of “release” to include the improper provision of access information to foreign persons (interim final rule published December 2019)
- a Federal Maritime Commission proposed rule to define unfair or unjustly discriminatory conduct by carriers against which shippers may file a complaint
- an FMC proposed rule to implement procedures regarding complaints about charges assessed by a common carrier
- an FMC proposed rule to clarify which parties may be appropriately billed for any demurrage, detention, or other similar per container charges
- an FMC advance notice of proposed rulemaking to explore the potential exemption of carriers from the requirement to file service contracts with the FMC
- an FMC ANPR to explore potentially reducing the current regulatory requirements for the licensing of ocean transportation intermediaries
Rulemakings completed
- a USDA proposed rule to strengthen provisions on the suspension and revocation of dairy tariff-rate quota licenses, permit earlier reallocation of surrendered quantities, and remove a section on license transfers
- a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms proposed rule to create a process by which importers may convert temporarily imported items to permanent imports under the Arms Export Control Act and ensure such comply with other federal firearms laws
- an ATF proposed rule to include the compositional terms of “component,” “accessories and attachments,” and “part” for purposes of permanent imports under the AECA
- an ATF proposed rule to remove the list of proscribed countries upon which ATF denies applications to permanently import defense articles and services and to instead inform the public that ATF will deny permanent import applications based on a State Department list
- an ATF proposed rule to create an exclusion from import requirements for items brought into customs bonded warehouses (in addition to the existing exclusion for foreign-trade zones) and expand permissible activities that federal firearms licensees may perform on items in FTZs and CBWs by removing the qualification that items may be brought into these spaces only for storage
- an ATF proposed rule to clarify that federal firearms licensees may lawfully import dual-use firearm barrels that may be used on both sporting and non-sporting firearms if, at the time imported, there is an identified firearm sporting configuration for the barrel
- an ATF proposed rule to clarify that certain training rounds are not regulated by the AECA and that importers therefore do no need to complete an ATF Form 6 to bring them into the U.S.
- an ATF final rule removing the requirement to submit in triplicate the required attestation for imports of plastic explosives
- an FDA final rule adding requirements that (1) prior notice for food arriving by international mail include the name of the mail service and a mail tracking number and (2) prior notice and food facility registration information be submitted within a certain timeframe after certain notices of refusal or hold have been issued
- an FDA final rule revoking regulations regarding mutual recognition of pharmaceutical reports with the European Union because they have been superseded by a 2017 agreement or are unnecessary
- a State Department final rule to foster defense trade between the U.S., Australia, and the United Kingdom
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