Importing Requirements
Importing Requirements: Import Export
importing Requirements: APHIS plays a vital role in ensuring the free flow of agricultural trade by keeping U.S. agricultural industries free from pests and diseases and certifying that the millions of U.S. agricultural and food products shipped to markets abroad meet the importing countries' entry requirements. APHIS makes sure that all imported agricultural products shipped to the United States from abroad meet the Agency's entry requirements to exclude pests and diseases of agriculture.
APHIS also keeps export markets open for American agricultural products by working to eliminate unjustified sanitary or phytosanitary (SPS) barriers that is, concerns about involving plant and animal health - raised by U.S. trading partners. APHIS' team of technical experts, based in the United States and abroad, includes scientists, veterinarians, pathologists, and entomologists that advocate on behalf of U.S. agriculture. They build relationships with their agricultural health and regulatory counterparts in other countries and use scientific principles to make the case for American agricultural exports, explaining to foreign officials why U.S. commodities are safe to import. APHIS played a direct role in opening new markets and retaining and expanding existing market access for U.S. agricultural products worth billions of dollars annually.
Importing Requirements: Cut Flowers and Greenery Import Manual
"The Cut Flowers and Greenery Import Manual" provides the background, procedures, and reference tables for regulating the fresh, cut portion of the plant when it is imported for decoration or ornamentation, and for protecting plants that are threatened with extinction due to trade in those plants or their derivatives. The articles from the countries of origin listed in this manual are regulated because just one destructive pest might be enough to start a pest outbreak that can cause millions of dollars of damage to crops, trees, flowers, or lawns. By their destructiveness, pests can increase the price and reduce the quality of food, lower property values, and ruin recreational areas. "The extinction of just one plant species does away with the aesthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, commercial, and scientific value of our world."
The Plant Protection Act of 2000 provides the authority to prohibit or restrict imports, exports, or interstate movement of plant pests, plants, plant products, noxious weeds, biological control agents and means of conveyance.
Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) officers / Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) ensure that all shipments of imported cut flowers reach local florists free of pests and diseases by enforcing quarantine laws that require cargo to be inspected at the first port of arrival. Any shipment or portion of a shipment may be refused or be required to be treated if PPQ officers find pests of quarantine significance.
CBP Agriculture Specialists are specially trained in how to inspect cut flowers, plants, and fresh herbs for signs of insects, pests or diseases. During the inspection, if an infested shipment is found, they will take a sample of the insect, pest or disease, complete an interception form which describes what they have found and identified and send it to a U.S. Department of Agriculture identifier. If the sample is not "actionable", the officer releases the shipment to the importer. If found to be actionable, that is, not known to exist in the United States, or is an exotic invasive species detrimental to American agriculture, the shipment is ordered for fumigation, destruction, or re-exportation under the Customs Bond. If the importer chooses fumigation, treatments are performed at the risk and expense to the importer and must be performed under the supervision of an APHIS officer at a USDA approved facility. After fumigation, the officer releases the flowers to the importer and allows them to enter the country. If the entomologist determines the insect or pest is not harmful and poses no economic threat to U.S. agriculture, the officer releases the flowers to the importer. Similarly, if re-exportation under Customs Bond is chosen, this is done at the risk and expense of the importer.
The top three U.S. ports of entry that receive the most imported cut flowers are Miami, Los Angeles, and New York. In a single shipment, CBP Agriculture Specialists working at any of these ports inspect samples representing up to 50 different varieties of cut flowers. The top three imported cut flowers are roses, carnations and chrysanthemums.
The purpose of the Release Program is to use pest risk analysis in processing agricultural cargo more effectively and efficiently by expediting the release of high volume, low risk cut flowers. Los Angeles is a participating port in this program. The flower and country combinations eligible for release under this program are:
Flower Type | County |
---|---|
Alstromeria spp. (Peruvian lily) Lilliaceae | Ecuador |
Dianthus spp. (carnation) Caryophyllaceae | Guatemala |
Gerbera spp. (Transvaal daisy) Asteraceae | Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador |
Liatris spp. (blazing star) Asteraceae | Columbia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador |
Lilium spp. (lily) Liliaceae | Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador |
Limonium spp. (sea lavender) Plumbaginaceae | Ecuador |
Lisianthus spp. (Eustoma spp.) | Ecuador |
Rosa spp. , Rosaceae | Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala |
Rose bouquets(1) | Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador |
Zantedeschia spp. (calla lily) Araceae | Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador |
(1) Any bouquet in which 75 percent of the stems in the bouquet, excluding greenery, are Rosa spp. The risks associated with the importation of cut flowers are subject to change for a variety of reasons, such as the volume of flowers that fluctuates annually, the number and species of pests intercepted, and population levels in growing areas are subject to change. For these reasons, the Release Program will be reviewed annually. The Release Program will also be subject to further evaluation as problems, i.e., significant pest findings or incidents of smuggling, etc.
Importing Requirements: The Flower of the Day
Any flower, including those qualifying for the National Cut Flower Release program, may be selected as the 'Flower of the Day'. If selected, the entire contents of at least one box of each flower/country combination from each grower must be inspected. The local operations desk will advise the warehouse, airline, or importer which low risk flower type (Flower of the Day), if any, will be inspected on that particular day.
"The 'Manual for Agricultural Clearance' (MAC) provides Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel working at airport, maritime, and land border locations with guidelines, directions, and policy for excluding pests that are a threat to American agriculture. CBP clears carriers and passengers and controls garbage and cargo to minimize the risk of introducing plant pests and/or animal diseases into the United States. This manual provides the information necessary to accomplish those clearance tasks that are performed at airports, maritime ports, and land border points of entry. As a part of excluding pests, CBP will also perform Agriculture Quarantine Inspection
Monitoring (AQIM) activities on passengers, vehicles and cargo that enter at ports of entry."

Canadian Border Agricultural Clearance Manual
"One purpose of this manual is to enable federal officers to regulate (determine admissibility of) agricultural articles in the absence of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agriculture Inspection (CBP AI). Regulate means to: 1. Prohibit entry of those articles that pose a threat to US agriculture. 2. Release those articles where there is a possibility of pests and/or diseases being carried. A second purpose of this manual is to provide directions for taking limited action in the absence of CBP AI. U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the Canadian border has agreed to: 1. Sample certain agricultural and vegetable seed 2. Board aircraft and ships in specified instances 3. Inspect horsemeat to make sure it is unfit for human consumption."

Miscellaneous and Processed Products:
Miscellaneous and Processed Products Manual provides background, processes, and reference tables for regulating imported nonplant articles (i.e., goatskins, brassware, and beeswax) that could bring exotic pests and parasites. Just one harmful bug can cost millions of dollars in damage to crops, trees, flowers, or lawns from the countries included in this manual. Pests can raise food prices, impair property values, and destroy recreational areas. One extinct plant species destroys the world's aesthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, commercial, and scientific worth. The Miscellaneous and Processed Products Manual contains nonplant articles that could bring exotic pests or parasites (e.g., goatskins can support khapra beetle populations, while beeswax could introduce exotic bee mites or illnesses). 1. Field crop harvesting and milling products (corn, cotton, rice, sugarcane, wheat) 2. Fruits, herbs, nuts, seeds, and vegetables harvested, preserved, and processed. 3. Nonplant items contaminated with exotic plant pests, parasites, or animal secretions 4. Crafts made from plants and plant parts Herbarium samples.

Seeds Not for Planting
"The Seed Not for Planting Manual provides the background, procedures, and reference tables for regulating whole seeds (grains and nuts) when they are imported for purposes other than planting or growing, and for protecting plants that are threatened with extinction due to trade in those plants or their derivatives. The seeds from the countries of origin listed in this manual are regulated because just one destructive pest might be enough to start an outbreak that can cause millions of dollars of damage to crops, trees, flowers, or lawns. Through their destructiveness, pests can increase the price and reduce the quality of food, lower property values, and ruin recreational areas. The extinction of just one plant species does away with the aesthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, commercial, and scientific value of our world."

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Import Manual
"The Fruits and Vegetables Import Manual provides the background, procedures, and reference tables for regulating imported articles of fresh, usable parts of plants such as fruits, stems, leaves, roots, and flowers (herbs and vegetables). These imported articles are not intended for planting or growing, but they might serve to introduce exotic pests. The articles from the countries of origin listed in this manual are regulated because just one destructive pest might be enough to start a pest outbreak that can cause millions of dollars of damage to crops, trees, flowers, or lawns. Through their destructiveness, pests can increase the price and reduce the quality of food, lower property values, and ruin recreational areas. The extinction of just one plant species does away with the aesthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, commercial, and scientific value of our world. The Fruits and Vegetables Import Manual covers all fresh fruits and vegetables, including fresh herbs and sprouts and immature nuts that have not been separated from their husk, that are imported from any foreign country, including Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, or Northern Mariana Islands. These fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs must be intended for consumption-- not for planting or growing. Only the approved plant parts of the fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs are allowed entry."

Treatment Manual
"The procedures and treatment schedules listed in this manual are administratively authorized for use in Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ). The treatment of listed commodities prevent the movement of agricultural pests into or within the United States. An officer may determine that other commodities require treatment to prevent similar pest movement. This manual covers all treatments for import, export, and those domestic plant pests that are of quarantine significance. This manual is broadly divided into ten sections: 1. Chemical Treatments 2. Nonchemical Therapies 3. Residue Monitoring 4. Treatment schedules 5. Certifying Facilities 6. Emergency Aid and Safety 7. Equipment 8. Glossary 9. Appendixes 10. Index. Each section is tabbed and contains a table of contents, an overview, and, where appropriate, a Methods and Procedures section. The Overview is a broad, general description of what is covered in the section. Methods and Procedures cover the 'how to' of that particular activity as well as procedural and reference material for performing tasks associated with each activity. The Appendixes contain information directly associated with treatment activities, but are placed in the back so they do not interfere with the flow of procedural instructions."(source from).