Based on a review of public comments received, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has withdrawn a proposal to change how U.S. exporters of apples and grapes report certificate information required by regulations issued under the Export Apple Act and the Export Grape and Plum Act.
The proposed rule would have required shippers of apples and grapes to electronically enter export certificate information into the U.S. Census Bureau’s Automated Export System (AES), added a definition for shipper and shifted the inspection certificate’s file retention requirement from carriers to shippers.
The proposed rule was open for comment Dec. 5, 2016 through April 24, 2017. A notice announcing the withdrawal of the proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on Oct. 5, 2017.
For more information about the requirements for exporting apples and grapes from the United States, contact Shannon Ramirez or Vincent Fusaro, Compliance and Enforcement Branch, Marketing Order and Agreement Division at (202) 720-2491 or email Shannon.Ramirez@ams.usda.gov or VincentJ.Fusaro@ams.usda.gov.
Source: USDA AMS
