Regulatory Agencies Outline Plans for Import-Export Regulations

Regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over imports and exports published their regulatory plans for the next several months as part of the Fall 2016 Unified Agenda (here). New rulemakings include the development of a national standard for disclosing bioengineered food, a final rule to require filing of new data elements for high-risk seafood imports and a proposal to allow imports of poultry slaughtered in China.

(NOTE: This is not an exhaustive list of import/export related regulations scheduled in the Unified Agenda. Many regulations appear in every edition of the agenda and are continually postponed. The rules listed below reflect new additions and notable changes from past agendas. See the full Unified Agenda for more detail. The Unified Agenda lists current regulatory plans as of Fall 2016, and does not reflect changes in policy under the incoming Trump administration.)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture lists several new rulemakings in its fall 2016 regulatory agenda (here). Newly listed by the Agricultural Marketing Service is a request for comments to inform development of a national standard for disclosing bioengineered food, as well as several proposed rules related to the agency’s National Organic Program. A newly listed proposed rule from the Food Safety and Inspection Service would allow China to export poultry to the U.S. from birds slaughtered in China.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service again lists proposed rules on importation of genetically engineered organisms and changes to its plant pest regulations, both of which had been listed on previous agendas. Similarly, final rules reappear that would eliminate the exemption on wood packaging material requirements from Canada and update forfeiture procedures under the Lacey Act and Endangered Species Act. Newly listed is an APHIS final rule to remove import restrictions on sheep and goats related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, based on a proposal APHIS issued in July (see 1607150025).

A rule finalizing the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Seafood Import Monitoring Program regulations is again listed on the Commerce Department’s regulatory agenda (here). As proposed, the rule would set new ACE filing requirements at time of entry for imports of certain species of seafood the agency has deemed high-risk (see 1602040020). Another NMFS final rule listed in Commerce’s regulatory agenda would revise the agency’s rules on fishing, importation and exportation of toothfish and other Antarctic species, as proposed in July (see 1607200061).

The Energy Department’s regulatory agenda (here) again lists a rule that would finalize a requirement for filing “certifications of admissibility” in the ACE at time of entry” for each shipment of products covered by DOE energy efficiency standards (see 1512290020). The agency has extended the comment period on its controversial proposal three times. Trade groups, including the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, have called on DOE to withdraw the proposed rule (see 1603140027), saying it imposed burdensome filing requirements without a clear reason (see 1606130008).

The Food and Drug Administration continues to list several rules of consequence for importers in the Department of Health and Human Services regulatory agenda (here). FDA plans to issue a final rule setting a framework for user fees for the agency’s third-party accreditation program, a key step before beginning the Voluntary Qualified Importer Program in October 2018 (see 1611100028). An FDA official recently said he hopes a final rule setting FDA’s ACE filing requirements will be published by the end of November, with an update to FDA’s supplemental guide coming soon after (see 1611140063). Also on the docket are a final rule banning powdered surgeon’s and patent examination gloves, a final rule setting new procedures for requesting tolerances for animal drugs in imported food, and a proposal that would create a licensing scheme for third-party logistics providers and warehouses in the drug supply chain, FDA said.

The Fish and Wildlife Service again lists two rules that recently have been perennial inclusions on the Interior Department’s regulatory agenda (here). One proposed rule rewriting its regulations on importation, exportation and transportation of wildlife has been listed in every Unified Agenda since 2013. The other, a final rule establishing seizure and forfeiture procedures, has been listed since in various forms since 1995.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory agenda (here) for the first time includes a proposal to require exporters of hazardous waste and facilities receiving hazardous waste import shipments to maintain a single web site for posting which documentation on the shipments. “The EPA is also considering a confidentiality determination to exclude hazardous waste import, export, and transit documents and cathode ray tube export documents from confidential business information (CBI) claims,” it said in a description of the proposal.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission lists in its regulatory agenda (here) final rules setting safety standards on off-road vehicles, sling carriers, infant bouncer seats, high chairs, infant bath tubs and children’s folding chairs and stools. Other planned final rules would finalize controversial proposals to amend voluntary recall notice regulations by making corrective action plans mandatory, and change regulations on information disclosures. A proposal to require filing of 10 data elements for certificates of compliance at time of entry, currently being piloted under a different approach that requires filing of only five data elements (see 1508130016), is listed as a long-term action.