Exports to Hong Kong
The Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service reports that beginning July 1 Hong Kong will require FSIS to submit a list of U.S.-certified establishments exporting raw meat and poultry products to Hong Kong.
According to FSIS, all establishments that are either on the China-eligible establishment lists for beef, pork, and poultry, or the Mexico-eligible establishment list for sheep, approved as of April 26, 2024, will automatically be listed for exports to Hong Kong. Such establishments are strongly encouraged to ensure that establishment information in these lists is identical to establishment information in PHIS and the establishment’s grant of inspection.
All establishments that are not currently on these lists and want to be eligible to export to Hong Kong must submit a new 9080-3 application by May 24 through FSIS’ Public Health Information System to be considered for the July 1 certified listing date.
Exports to the Philippines
The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service reports that the Philippines Department of Agriculture has been ordered to further streamline administrative procedures and policies on the importation of agricultural products and to remove non-tariff barriers to help ensure food security. This will include (1) streamlining procedures and requirements on the licensing of importers, minimizing processing time for import applications, and exempting licensed traders from registration requirements, (2) streamlining the processing and releasing of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance applications, (3) revising importation guidelines for sugar and allowing direct importation of sugar by industrial users, (4) reviewing existing import regulations for frozen fish and aquatic products, particularly provisions that impose quantitative restrictions on fish imports and limit competition and participation in international trade, (5) taking concrete steps to improve logistics, transport, distribution, and storage of imported agricultural products, and (6) prioritizing the unloading and release of imported agricultural products.
Fish Imports
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Court of International Trade has lifted the preliminary injunction that prohibited the importation of all snapper, terakihi, spotted dogfish, trevally, warehou, hoki, barracouta, mullet, and gurnard fish and fish products harvested by set nets and trawls in the inshore fisheries of the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island within the Maui dolphin’s geographic range. As of April 2 these products no longer require a National Marine Fisheries Service certificate of admissibility to enter the U.S.
Poultry Imports
Effective April 29, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has restricted the importation of poultry, commercial birds, ratites, avian hatching eggs, unprocessed avian products and byproducts, and certain fresh poultry products originating from or transiting Chiba prefecture in Japan based on a determination that highly-pathogenic avian influenza exists in domestic birds in this area.
Imports of unprocessed avian products and byproducts and certain fresh poultry products originating from or transiting a restricted area are prohibited. Processed avian products and byproducts originating from or transiting a restricted area, imported as cargo, must be accompanied by an APHIS import permit and/or government certification confirming that the products were treated according to APHIS requirements. Further, importation as cargo of fresh, unprocessed shell/table eggs and other egg products, void of the shell (i.e., liquid eggs, dried egg whites), originating from or transiting any restricted area is prohibited unless the products 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 for these shipments when consigned directly to an APHIS-approved establishment.
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