Background

Exports to China

The Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service issued recently a guidance for U.S. exporters registering their manufacturing, processing, and storage facilities subject to General Administration of Customs of China Decree 248.

Under this decree the GACC requires facilities or establishments exporting specific categories of food products to China to register in the China Import Food Enterprises Registration system prior to shipping. Each facility must list the products it intends to export to China in its CIFER application. Products are defined as a combination of one Harmonized Tariff System code plus a corresponding Customs, Inspection, and Quarantine code. Chinese importers must present these HS and CIQ codes to GACC to clear imported shipments.

The guidance lists common issues exporters experience in complying with this requirement, including registration delays for new applicants, production date vs. shipping date, and detained shipments.

Plants from Canada

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service reports that effective Dec. 19 it has amended entry requirements for the importation of certain plants for planting from Canada to prevent introduction of box tree moth into the U.S. Specifically, APHIS is amending a 2021 federal order to (1) remove restrictions for box tree moth on Euonymus spp. and Ilex spp. plants, (2) recognize the Canadian province of British Columbia as free of box tree moth, and (3) require boxwood plants for planting produced in Canada to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating “The Buxus plants have been produced in a pest-free area for Cydalima perspectalis.”

Poultry from Switzerland

Effective Dec. 13 APHIS has removed restrictions on imports of poultry, commercial birds, ratites, avian hatching eggs, unprocessed avian products and byproducts, and certain fresh poultry products originating from or transiting the canton of Zurich in Switzerland after the highly-pathogenic avian influenza outbreak in this area was completely resolved. However, restrictions based on Newcastle disease virus are still in effect.

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