The United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has announced that fresh rhizomes of wasabi from Indonesia can now be imported into the U.S. This decision comes after a pest risk analysis determined that phytosanitary measures can manage the risk of importing plant pests. Despite some comments from Indonesian stakeholders about the phytosanitary certificate requirements, APHIS decided to maintain the original requirements. The updated importation guidelines will soon be listed in APHIS's Agricultural Commodity Import Requirements database.
Simple Explanation
The U.S. has decided to let people bring in special wasabi plants from Indonesia, as long as certain rules are followed to keep out bad bugs. Even though some people in Indonesia wanted different rules, the U.S. kept the original ones to make sure everything stays safe.