PGAs List Few New Rulemakings in Fall Regulatory Agenda

Regulatory agencies with a hand in trade included relatively few new trade-related rulemakings in their regulatory agendas for fall 2022. While the Commerce Department did include one new rule related to its antidumping and countervailing duty procedures, FDA, USDA and other partner government agencies (PGAs) largely continued to list rules that had been listed in previous agendas but not yet published.

The Commerce Department’s new rulemaking would amend the agency’s AD/CVD regulations to “improve and augment its scope, circumvention and covered merchandise proceedings,” as well as create a new definition for particular market situation and provide “guidance on the criteria which Commerce may, and may not, consider in determining if a market situation is particular.” The proposal, scheduled for March, would follow an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on the subject issued by Commerce in November.

FDA continues to list proposed rules on import certifications for high-risk foods, submission of ACE data for e-cigarettes, streamlined provisions for written assurances from customers under the Foreign Supplier Verification Program regulations, and on its prior notice requirements. The latter rule, also listed in the agency’s spring unified agenda, would “create a timeframe for submitting post-refusal/hold submissions” and “clarify FDA’s and CBP’s processes for having the food exported or destroyed per CBP general order merchandise requirements” if that time frame isn’t met.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration continues to list a proposed rule it has included in its agenda since fall 2021 that would amend import permitting, reporting and record-keeping and entry filing requirements for seafood imports, as well as provide for revocation of a certification of admissibility if the “exporting nation officials do not exercise due diligence in documenting the origin of fishery products shipped to the United States.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service now lists at the final rule stage a rulemaking that would amend its seizure and forfeiture regulations. Building on a proposed rule issued in 2016 (see 1606160030), the final rule will “provide uniform guidance for the bonded release, appraisement, administrative proceeding, petition for remission, and disposal of items subject to forfeiture,” and harmonize FWS’ regulations with CBP’s seizure and forfeiture procedures.