Concerns over imported and exported food during the COVID-19 pandemic are unfounded, and efforts to restrict food trade have no scientific basis, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a joint statement June 24. “The United States understands the concerns of consumers here domestically and around the world who want to know that producers, processors and regulators are taking every necessary precaution to prioritize food safety especially during these challenging times. However, efforts by some countries to restrict global food exports related to COVID-19 transmission are not consistent with the known science of transmission,” they said. “There is no evidence that people can contract COVID-19 from food or from food packaging. The U.S. food safety system, overseen by our agencies, is the global leader in ensuring the safety of our food products, including product for export.”

The Food and Drug Administration on June 22 launched a new online system for U.S. exporters of animal food, drugs and devices to track and receive export certificates. The Center for Veterinary Medicine’s new Export Certification Application and Tracking System (eCATS) “will help facilitate exports by assisting industry in fulfilling importing country requirements for certification by CVM of CVM-regulated animal products,” FDA said. It also “provides a tool for foreign governments to verify the authenticity of export certificates provided to them by industry,” FDA said.

CBP's Miami seaport is urging exporters to more accurately provide filing information after seeing a “high number” of violations on vehicle export filings. The agency is specifically finding violations with “line details” and commodity descriptions in filings within the Automated Commercial Environment’s AESDirect application, CBP said in a June 19 notice to industry. The agency reminded industry that violators could be subject to fines of $10,000 per violation.

The Drug Enforcement Administration said it intends to temporarily add the synthetic opioid isotonitazene to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. DEA can issue a final order temporarily adding the substance after a 30-day period. If issued, the final order will take effect immediately and stay in effect for a three-year maximum, pending completion of a permanent scheduling order.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is removing the Borax Lake chub (Gila boraxobius), a fish native to Oregon, from the Endangered Species List, a final rule said. Threats to the species have been “eliminated or reduced to the point where it no longer meets the definition of an endangered or a threatened species,” FWS said. The delisting takes effect July 13, 2020.

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new reporting requirements for eight chemicals under significant new use rules. The proposed SNURs would require notification to EPA at least 90 days in advance of a new use by importers, manufacturers or processors. Importers of chemicals subject to these proposed SNURs would need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements should these proposed rules be finalized, EPA said. Exporters of these chemicals would become subject to export notification requirements. Comments on the proposed SNURs are due July 15.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will end its participation in a CBP pilot on electronic filing in ACE of export-related ATF forms and data (see 1607080020), ATF said in a notice. The Border Interagency Executive Council and the departments of the Treasury and Homeland Security “asked ATF to end the pilot,” the notice said. “Pilot participants can continue to function as they did while on the pilot. Participants will not notice any differences after the pilot has ended. At some point, CBP will mandate importers and exporters to use the ACE single window; however, [the Department of Homeland Security] needs all pilots successfully completed to move to their next phase of implementation. The termination of the pilot will not cause any delays for participating exporters, and CBP will continue to transmit the certificate of exportation to ATF electronically.” CBP has not yet announced a date for when the filing entries in ACE will be mandatory, the notice said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to list para-methoxymethamphetamine (PMMA), a drug similar to methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) that is also sold as “ecstasy,” as a schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. “If finalized, this action would impose the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis with, or possess), or propose to handle PMMA,” DEA said. Comments are due June 15.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is issuing a final rule listing the Southern Sierra Nevada Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of the fisher (Pekania pennanti), a mammal species in the weasel family, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The listing only applies to fishers from the Southern Sierra Nevada DPS in Central California, and not the population in Northern California and southern Oregon. New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect June 15.

CBP created a page dedicated to “technical documentation related to filing export related content to CBP and the Automated Commercial Environment's AESDirect.”