Author: April Martinez

On November 15, 2019, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)  released a Federal Order regarding the importation of tomato and pepper which are hosts of the Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV).

Effective November 22, 2019, the United States Department of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) will impose new requirements for the importation of tomato and Capsicum spp. (pepper), which are hosts of the ToBRFV. The USDA indicates that this measure is necessary to prevent the introduction of the virus into the United States. More precisely:

•   The USDA is restricting the importation of tomato and Capsicum spp. (pepper) by imposing import requirements on plants and plant products to mitigate the risk of ToBRFV. Imports of propagative material (including plants for planting, seeds, grafts, obscured seeds and cuttings) must be free from ToBRFV based on origin from an area where the pest is absent or on negative diagnostic testing results.
  • Propagative material from Canada will have to be accompanied by a Phytosanitary Certificate with an additional declaration certifying that the product meets US import requirements.

• The USDA is also placing new requirements on imports of fresh tomato and pepper fruit from those countries where ToBRFV is present and that are approved to export to the United States.
  • According to the USDA, although ToBRFV has not been reported in Canada, because Canada imports tomato and pepper fruit from Mexico that are re-exported to the US, tomato and pepper fruit from Canada will need to be inspected at the point of origin to ensure it is free of disease symptoms.
    • Fruits from Canada will have to be accompanied by a certification document issued by the grower or packer, indicating that the fruits have been inspected and been found free of symptoms of ToBRFV.
    • A phytosanitary certificate with a declaration that the fruit has been inspected and found free of symptoms is another option.
  • In addition, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will increase inspections at U.S. ports of entry to ensure imported tomato and pepper fruit entering from Canada (and other identified countries) do not show signs of the virus upon arrival.

These requirements for imported fruit will remain in place until the USDA completes its risk analysis of the fruit pathway for ToBRFV introduction into the United States and determines appropriate regulatory action.

In Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is working to implement these new requirements. If you plan to export tomato or Capsicum spp. (pepper) propagative material or fruit to the United States in the coming weeks and haven’t already contacted the CFIA regarding these new requirements, please contact your local CFIA office.

More information on the this issue is available on the USDA website:

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/import-information/federal-import-orders/tobrfv/tomato-brown-rugose-fruit-virus

Market Access Secretariat
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
E-mail Address: aafc.mas-sam.aac@canada.ca

The Certification Document can be found on our website in the Forms section

As of June 30, 2020 the B13A will be replaced by CERS (Canadian Export Reporting System).  The information required will be the same as a B13A, but the CAED Software will be replaced by the CERS online portal.  If you have already used the CAED software or a service provider has submitted B13A on your behalf, you will received a letter between February 2020 and June 2020 with your CERS password.  If your business has never submitted a B13A Export Declaration before, registration for CERS will begin March 2020.

You will need to register for CERS and you can assign users.  You will need to create a CERS User Account and then create a CERS Portal Business Account.  The new system will also allow service providers to continue doing your new “B13A” Export Declarations as Proxy Account Holders.

The CERS Chapter 25 document explains the process.ECCRD-CERS Portal-Ch 25 V1.1 – FINAL – EN

Modifications to the action being taken in the Section 301 investigation will increase the rate of additional duty from 10 to 15 percent for the products of China covered by the $300 billion tariff action (Tranche 4) published on August 20, 2109.

BACKGROUND:

On August 20, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a Modification of Section 301 Action in 84 FR 43304 introducing another imposition of additional tariffs on products of China with an annual trade value of approximately $300 billion which is referred to as Tranche 4.  The tariff subheadings subject to additional duties under Tranche 4 are separated into two lists with different effective dates – Annex A contains the formal Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) language for list 1 and Annex B contains an informal description of the products in list 1.  Annex C contains the formal HTSUS language for list 2 and Annex D contains an informal description of the products in list 2.

On August 30, 2019, in accordance with the specific direction of the President, the USTR published their determination to modify the action being taken in the Section 301

investigation by increasing the rate of additional duty from 10 to 15 percent for the

products of China covered by the $300 billion tariff action (Tranche 4).  See 84 FR 45821.

• List 1 will be in  effect on September 1, 2019 with additional duty of 15 percent
• List 2 will be in effect on December 15, 2019 with additional duty of 15 percent
• https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/08/20/2019-17865/notice-of-modification-of-section-301-action-chinas-acts-policies-and-practices-related-to

GUIDANCE:

Products Covered by Tranche 4, Annex A (Described in Annex B) – additional duty of 15 percent ad valorem is effective September 1, 2019

The additional import duties for Chinese goods covered by Annex A, published in the August 20, 2019 list of products subject to the Section 301 action, and are effective with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 AM eastern daylight time on September 1, 2019.  Any article classified in a subheading covered by Annex A that is a product of China is subject to a 15% ad valorem duty rate, in addition to the general (Column 1) rate of duty for that particular subheading.

The new 4^th Tranche of List 1 Excluded Product include the below five completed Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers:

8407.21.0040

8427.10.4000

8473.40.1000

8481.10.0090

8483.50.9040