USMEF International Buyers Conference Product Showcase Registration Kit USMEF...
USMEF International Buyers Conference Product Showcase Registration Kit
USMEF South American Expo
Clarification On New Labeling Requirements
USMEF has received further clarification from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding the labeling and export requirements that China will require as of April 1, 2003.
1. AQSIQ will allow any meat products leaving U.S. ports before April 1 to enter under existing regulations.
2. Shipping container seals are mandatory but can be plastic or metal.
3. The plant establishment number is required on the inner liner. If there is more than one liner in the box, put the establishment number on the master liner.
4. Boxes must have liners. Wax-lined boxes will not be accepted.
5. Retail-ready product will not be affected by the new regulations.
The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and AQSIQ are still negotiating regarding the certification for seal and container numbers. USMEF emphasized the need for an exporter/shipper certification similar to the export documents for Taiwan and Korea. USDA will notify USMEF this week with further clarification of the new regulations. Please contact Kevin Smith, ksmith@usmef.org., 303-623-6328, or Ann Spaeth, aspaeth@usmef.org, with questions.
Pushed Back to March 19
As we reported in the Export Newsline on February 17, an extension for companies filing in Mexico’s antidumping investigation of U.S. pork has been granted for 20 working days. This means the deadline is now March 19, instead of February 18.
The Mexican government announced it was starting an antidumping investigation on January 7. The case covers imports of U.S. pork from April 1-September 30, 2002. While some USMEF members have received the original Spanish questionnaire for the pork antidumping case, an English translation is available at http://www.usmef.org/.
The questionnaire includes general information and instructions, overviews in chart 1 and chart 2, definitions in “Annex” 2, 3 and 4, and forms “Annex 1” and “A.1-2” .
Exporters and traders selling product to Mexico should review these documents and consider whether to have their attorneys also review them. USMEF understands that the named companies selling product during the investigation period as well as any company that wants to try to being put into an “all others” category should fill out the forms and submit the requested data before the filing deadline, March 19. The official announcement is available online at http://www.segob.gob.mx/dof/dof_07-01-2003.pdf and begins on page 26 of this document. A preliminary translation – in which there may be still be interpretation errors – is available at http//www.usmef.org/Misc_News/03_0107_MexAntiDump_sp.pdf and a preliminary evaluation of the situation by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service office in Mexico City is available at http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200301/145785049.pdf.