The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (U.S.) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is seeking comments on a pest risk analysis for fresh citrus imports from China.

APHIS says its scientists determined pomelo, Nanfeng honey mandarin, ponkan, sweet orange, and Satsuma mandarin fruit from China can be safely imported into the U.S. under a systems approach.

In this case, the systems approach includes importation in commercial consignments only, registration of places of production and packinghouses, certification of propagative material as being free of quarantine pests, periodic inspections of places of production, grove sanitation, and postharvest disinfection and treatment.

In addition, pomelo fruit must be bagged on trees more than two months prior to harvest.

APHIS says it will consider all comments received by July 1, 2019. Beginning on May 1, members of the public will be able to submit comments here. After reviewing all comments, APHIS will announce its final decision in a subsequent notice in the Federal Register.

The development comes amid a trade war between the U.S. and China, which has seen the latter implement significant tariff increases on a range of U.S. produce items including citrus.