Mexico
The Department of Agriculture reports that Mexico has effectively withdrawn two measures concerning genetically-engineered corn that the U.S. successfully challenged in a USMCA dispute. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, these measures include (1) a ban on the use of GE corn in dough and tortillas and (2) an instruction to Mexican government agencies to gradually eliminate the use of GE corn for other food uses and in animal feed. USDA states that this action “safeguards approximately $5.6 billion in U.S. corn exports to Mexico.”
Argentina
The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service reports that on Jan. 20 Argentina implemented a series of modifications to its food import and export regulations. Specifically, Argentina is (1) allowing food imported from countries with high sanitary standards, including the U.S., to enter by submitting only an import affidavit, which eliminates any previous certificate, product or facility registration, and import licensing requirements for these products, and (2) requiring domestically-produced food products intended to be exported to comply only with the requirements and restrictions imposed by the destination country.
However, these changes only apply to products regulated by the National Food Institute (primarily consumer-oriented finished food products), not to products regulated by SENASA such as meat, poultry, dairy, pet food, and feed.
Cattle Imports
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced Feb. 1 that imports of cattle and bison from Mexico were scheduled to resume within the next several days. APHIS halted such shipments in November 2024 after a positive detection of New World screwworm in southern Mexico. However, APHIS and Mexico have since agreed to and implemented a comprehensive pre-clearance inspection and treatment protocol to ensure safe movement and mitigate the threat of NWS.
Rice Exports
FAS reports that on Dec. 17, 2024, the Dominican Republic issued a decree to limit rice imports into the country. This decree establishes a quota of 23,300 metric tons for U.S. rice, subject to a zero percent ad valorem tariff. Imports of U.S. rice exceeding that quota may use the WTO quota of 17,810 MT subject to a 20 percent ad valorem tariff. Outside of these two quotas, U.S. rice will face a 99 percent tariff.
FAS notes that these restrictions appear inconsistent with the duty-free and unlimited access U.S. rice was set to enjoy in the DR beginning Jan. 1, 2025, under CAFTA-DR, but that the decree is grounded in a law allowing the regulation of imports of sensitive products for national security purposes.
Poultry Imports
APHIS has imposed the following restrictions on the importation of poultry and related products from Guatemala (effective Dec. 12, 2024) and Uruguay (effective Jan. 31, 2025) due to concerns about highly-pathogenic avian influenza.
- Importation of poultry and hatching eggs of poultry is prohibited.
- Importation of unprocessed avian products and byproducts (including eggs and egg products and meat) originating from or transiting these countries, arriving as cargo, is generally prohibited, but in some cases these products can be imported if consigned directly from the port of arrival to an eligible USDA-approved establishment.
- Importation of fresh, unprocessed shell/table eggs and egg products, void of the shell (e.g., liquid eggs and dried egg whites), arriving as cargo, is prohibited unless they are consigned from the port of arrival directly to an APHIS-approved breaking and pasteurization facility. An import permit and/or certificate is not required in such cases.
- Imports of processed avian products and byproducts, arriving as cargo, must be accompanied by a USDA import permit and/or government certification confirming that the goods were treated in accordance with APHIS requirements.
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