Info on relaxation of USDA import rules for seed
Russell Stafford, Odyssey Bulbs (Tue, 04 May 2004 15:28:35 PDT)

I wish I could, Harold (and Leo), but this is a government bureaucracy
we're dealing with, so perhaps I've been rash in asserting that the permits
referred to in the document are the standard 5-year PPQ-597 forms. That
was my first and second reading but the document does contain some passages
that raise some questions in my mind as to what exactly is being proposed.

Under the section entitled "Permits", the document states that applicants
for the permit would submit the same information (including "expected date
of arrival") as do applicants for the standard 5-year PPQ-597 permit, and
that small shipments of seeds would be added to the ranks of "restricted
articles" that require such a permit. This implies that the permit issued
would be a standard 5-year permit.

Soon thereafter, though, comes this sentence: "As with permits for other
plant material that is imported into the United States, the permit for the
small lots of seed would be sent to the importer along with written
instructions, a copy of the import requirements, and a standard green and
yellow shipping label." This hints that the permit might not be the 597
permit and that it would be good for only one shipment. On the other hand,
it could merely be fuzzy writing. It's happened before.

It's difficult at this point to respond to this proposed rule, because
what's being proposed is not entirely clear. If the gist of the change is
to add small shipments of seeds to the list of restricted articles that
require a 597 permit, while exempting such shipments from the phyto
requirement, then bully for it. I just I were absolutely certain that's
what's being said.

Time to ask for an official interpretation, I guess.

Russell

At 01:51 PM 5/4/2004 -0700, you wrote:

Russell Stafford
Odyssey Bulbs
8984 Meadow Lane, Berrien Springs, Michigan 49103
269-471-4642
http://www.odysseybulbs.com/