Tag: import/export
-
Pew Environment Group Asks FDA to Apply Drug Rules to All Imported Farmed Salmon
According to the Environment Group of the Pew Charitable Trusts, salmon farming companies producing fish for export to the United States from Canada, Norway and Scotland are using pesticides and antibiotics that do not appear on the FDA/CVM Approved Drugs in Aquaculture list. In an April 23, 2009, letter to the acting Food and Drug…
-
Consumer Advocates Protest Chicken Imports from China
The consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch (FWWatch) recently launched a campaign to block chicken imports from China, where several U.S. companies are reportedly building plants. Alleging that these corporations are “putting pressure” on lawmakers, FWWatch has asked Congress to uphold its 2008 ban on imported processed poultry in light of “specific problems” with China’s…
-
Food Producers File $1 Billion Lawsuit Against Import Insurers and Federal Government
Companies that produce honey, mushroom, garlic, and crawfish products have filed a putative class action against major insurance companies and the U.S. government, alleging that the negligent issuance of customs surety bonds allowed the sale of massive quantities of competing, lower-cost Chinese products. Sioux Honey Ass’n v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co., No. 09-00141 (Ct. Int’l Trade,…
-
United States and Canada Agree on Organic Equivalency Standards
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) has announced that the United States and Canada have agreed to finalize negotiations on their organic equivalency standards before the new rule is implemented on June 30, 2009, to ensure trade continues uninterrupted. The new Organic Products Regulations will require all Canadian organic products to be endorsed by a certification…
-
Beef Hormone Dispute Headed to WTO
The European Commission has reportedly indicated that it will file a World Trade Organization (WTO) challenge to the U.S. decision to impose new tariffs on European Union (EU) products involved in sanctions stemming from a dispute over beef hormones. The EU has banned hormone-treated beef since the early 1980s, and the WTO ruled in 1998…
-
USDA Publishes Final Details of COOL Program
USDA this week issued a final rule for its mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) program, which applies to beef, pork, lamb, chicken, goat meat, wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish, perishable agricultural commodities, peanuts, pecans, ginseng, and macadamia nuts. USDA had previously published an interim final rule in advance of a September 30, 2008, implementation deadline…
-
Seattle Newspaper Exposes Widespread “Honey Laundering”
“A far cry from the innocent image of Winnie the Pooh with a paw stuck in the honey pot, the international honey trade has become increasingly rife with crime and intrigue,” claims a recent Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle P-I)investigative report on the widespread practice of “honey laundering,” the illegal practice of transshipping products through other countries to…
-
Mexico Resumes U.S. Meat Imports
In late December 2008, Mexico banned imports of meat from 30 U.S. processing facilities, telling the USDA that sanitary issues were to blame, although some, including Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), suggested that the move was in retaliation for the new country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rules that took effect September 30. Mexican officials denied any connection and…