Ryan Olson
March 7, 2019
This week, NAEGA was informed that
USDA FGIS has asked the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) to
ask exporters to include a request for Canadian Thistle Seed analysis on all
wheat load orders bound for the Republic of Korea and Argentina, as well as all
wheat and soybean load orders bound for Vietnam. WSDA indicates it will do the initial
analysis, but any “suspect” thistle seeds will be sent to the APHIS lab in
North Carolina for further analysis.
NAEGA expects to continue discussion
with relevant committees on the actions of both U.S. and Vietnam government in
this regard. These developments build
upon ongoing actions related to Canada thistle presence. In particular, USDA
APHIS has advised NAEGA that:
- Vietnam will require destruction or
reexport of U.S. wheat or soybeans in which seeds of Canada thistle (Cirsium
arvense) are detected in incoming deliveries arriving March 1, 2019 or later.
APHIS will implement a Canada thistle sampling protocol during U.S. export
phytosanitary inspection for wheat and soybeans after an expected directive is
issued by the Federal Grain Inspection Service. Only consignments in which no
Canada thistle seed is detected will be eligible for phytosanitary
certification for Vietnam
- FGIS will issue a new directive by
Wednesday, February 27, which will describe the procedures for detecting Canada
thistle (Cirsium arvense) seeds in wheat and soybeans bound for Vietnam. All
wheat and soybean consignments with inspection dates on or after the directive
date will require seed analysis. APHIS will issue phytosanitary certificates
for wheat and soybeans bound for Vietnam inspected on or after the directive
date only when accompanied by a completed export phytosanitary inspection
report (e.g. FGIS-921-2) indicating freedom from seed of Canada thistle. The
FGIS directive is to be posted at:
https://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/fgis-program-directives.
NAEGA continues pursue measures
based on sound science and consistent with international convention that are
least trade distortive. We are working
to support work with VN PPD in order to establish a compliance regime to
pre-empt the precautionary and yet-to-be-identified-or-justified visual
inspection at import and re-export measures upon port arrival of U.S. cargoes
in VN.