78 / SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2018 NATIONAL USDA APPROVES PLANT- BASED LONG CHAIN OMEGA-3 On Aug. 24, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA- APHIS) deregulated Nuseed Americas’ canola variety genetically engineered (GE) to contain increased levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is an omega-3 fatty acid. REGULATORY ROUNDUP Keeping you informed of legislative and regulatory changes at the state, national and international levels — from lawsuits to approvals to other regulatory issues affecting your business. China have been charged in a conspiracy to steal rice produc- tion technology in an alleged attempt to bring this propri- etary science back to China. Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Diane Upchurch, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Little Rock Field Office, announced the indictment of Liu Xuejun, 49, and Sun Yue, 36, both of China, for conspiracy to steal trade secrets and conspiracy to commit interstate transpor- tation of stolen property. A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Liu and Sun for their involvement in the theft of rice seeds designed for use in the medical field. The rice seeds were developed by a company called Ventria Bioscience, which used technology to create rice seeds that contained certain proteins. These proteins could then be removed from the rice and used in medicines and pharmaceutical products. Ventria, which is headquar- tered in Colorado and has a rice production facility in Kansas, has invested approxi- mately $75 million in develop- ing the intellectual property behind these rice seeds. INTERNATIONAL BRAZILIAN COURT RULES THAT GROWERS WILL HAVE ACCESS TO GLYPHOSATE A Brazilian court ruled that growers in that country will maintain their access to glyphosate-based herbicides. “This ruling is very good news for Brazilian growers, who count on glyphosate- based herbicides to control weeds and grow their crops safely and effectively,” said Liam Condon, a member of Bayer AG’s board of manage- ment and president of the Crop Science Division. On Aug. 3, a Brazilian judge issued an injunction that could have prohibited the registration and use of glyphosate-based herbicides and several other crop protec- tion products in the country. The injunction was not a ruling on glyphosate safety but only related to delays in routine regulatory reviews of crop protection products. A Brazilian court ruled in favor of a remedy filed by the federal government to overturn the injunction before it took effect and ensure that Brazilian growers can con- tinue to use glyphosate-based products. CANADA TO PHASE OUT TWO MORE NEONICOTINOIDS Clothianidin and thiameth- oxam are neonicotinoid crop protection pesticides applied to seeds, to leaves, and through ground treatments to mitigate insect damage to crops and to control insect populations. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has pro- posed cancelling outdoor uses of both neonicotinoids to mitigate risks to the aquatic environment and aquatic invertebrates. PMRA concluded that these neonicotinoid products pose unacceptable environ- mental risks and therefore PMRA proposes: to cancel all outdoor uses for food and feed crop treatments, seed treatments and turf treat- ments for clothianidin and all outdoor uses for food and feed crop treatments, seed treatments and outdoor ornamental treatments for thiamethoxam. As part of the petition pro- cess, APHIS prepared a draft plant pest risk assessment and a draft environmental assess- ment. APHIS has determined it is unlikely to pose a plant pest risk and is deregulating this variety of GE canola. CHINESE NATIONALS CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY IN RICE CASE Two rice researchers from ARGENTINA TO RELEASE FIRST BIOTECH SOYBEAN FROM CHINA The Argentine Official Register announced the public consultation required for the release of the first soybean trait developed by a Chinese company, Beijing D-Bei-Nong Technology Group (DBN). The soybean event DBN09004-6 has glyphosate and glufosinate tolerance traits. DBN has been develop- ing new traits to improve crop productivity. In 2013, DBN signed an agreement with Bioceres to facilitate the regu- latory process of DBN’s traits in Argentina, and Bioceres’ traits in China. SW