U.S. to remove inspection exemptions for all Canadian ag shipments

U.S. to remove inspection exemptions for all Canadian ag shipments The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued an interim rule to remove all inspection exemptions on agricultural shipments from Canada.
   The USDA said it’s making the change due to increased cases of agricultural shipments from third countries entering the United States via the Canadian border. It’s not uncommon for Customs and Border Protection inspectors to find agricultural shipments from overseas relabeled as originating in Canada, the department said.
   In 2004, for example, CBP inspectors in Detroit intercepted Spanish oranges and Dutch peppers manifested as products of Canada. In 2005, the USDA estimates that about 14,000 hydrangea plants from Japan entered the United States via Canada. The USDA prohibits hydrangea shipments from Japan due to the threat of Puccinia glyceriae, a plant rust.
   “Being situated entirely in cool to cold eco-regions, Canada imposes fewer phytosanitary requirements than does the United States on imports of plant products from most countries where tropical or subtropical pests are present,” the USDA said.
   To recover the cost of increased staffing and agricultural shipment inspections along the U.S./Canadian border, the USDA will impose user fees on commercial vessels, trucks, railcars and planes, in addition to airline passengers.
   In fiscal 2007, the USDA estimates that the user fees will generate $938,000 from vessel operators, $14.8 million from trucking companies, $6.5 million from the railroads, $4.9 million from the airlines, and $50.9 million from airline passengers arriving from Canada.
   The interim rule is effective Nov. 24. For more information, contact Alan S. Green, executive director of USDA’s Plant Health Programs, at (301) 734-8261, or access online: https://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/E6-14128.htm .