Safeguarding, Intervention, and Trade Compliance Program

2004·0.48 MB·English

by  United States. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Historic, Archive Document
Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.

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UnitedStates DepartmentofAgriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Sen/Ice
ProgramAid No. 1771
Safeguarding,
Intervention, and Trade
Compliance Program
APHIS, ^^JipY
"SITC
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Responding to a Changing
Global Marketplace
With international trade agreements in place,
such as the North Annerican Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade
Organization agreements, more international
travel and trade are taking place than ever
before, and cargo volumes are up. Annually, the
United States imports more than $40 billion
worth of agricultural commodities, and each day,
more than 430,000 people travel to the United
States to conduct business, tour historical sites, Besides port
and visit friends and family. operations, ASITCinspectorattheLosAngelesworkunitoperates
teams of imagingequipmentfromtlieunit'sspeciallyequippedvan.
sUnmfuogrgtulneadteplryo,hiibllietgeadl apgrroidcuuclttusrahlaivmepoprrtolsifaenrdated hBiorwd'sexeoyteicvbiierwd:sAcaSnITbCeosfmfiucgegrldeedmoinnstotrates SITC officers (APHISfilephoto.)
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The agency's efforts have led to grandjury Over the years, Americans have come to count
in response to the growing volume of smuggled indictments and Federal sentencing, hundreds on a diverse array of agricultural products for
and improperly imported agricultural products ofthousands of dollars in fines, and seizures of their dinner table. In order to fulfill the ever-
entering the United States, officials from the prohibited agricultural products valued at several changing tastes ofAmericans, the United States
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's million dollars. If vendors aren't aware they're imports commodities from around the globe.
(APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) selling prohibited items, the onsite SITC official Local grocery stores now carry everything from
program created the Safeguarding, Intervention, will explain Federal regulations and begin the Mexican artichokes to Italian zucchini. Some
and Trade Compliance (SITC) unit. The SITC importation trace to find the illegal pathway. foreign countries have agricultural pests and
program conducts risk-management and anti- diseases that do not exist in this country. These
smuggling activities to prevent the unlawful entry Domestic market surveillance and port inspec- pests and diseases can cause devastating
amondditdiiestsriabnudtiopnroodfupcrtoshitbhiattedmaagyrihcaurltbuorralhacrommf-ul jloinnsg,abruethtihgehrleyaerfefecttiimveesmwehtehnodtshetoundietterressormtusgt-o dCoanmsaegqueenttolUy.,S.PaPgQricsutlrtiuvrese tifoienntsroudruecetdh.at
exotic plant and animal pests, diseases, or other measures. As needed, SITC officers and imported products are free of harmful pests
invasive species. other PPQ employees conduct trade verification and diseases. PPQ does this by regulating the
operations and stepped-up inspections of cargo,
importation of agricultural products with phy-
SITC's Defense of America's Bounty passenger vehicles, and mail packages to seal tosanitary (plant health) certificates, importation
offthe flow of goods into the United States. mles, and inspections.
SITC officers nationwide shut down illegal path- Working with each State's department of agricul-
ways and agricultural distribution points in many ture and other Federal agencies such as CBP, A phytosanitary certificate is an official document
shipladenwithgoodsIraniabroaddoci^salawesicoastpoit An ways. The unit routinely works with U.S. the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Food and issued by an exporting country, which certifies
agriculturalinspectionisoneofmanyinspectionstheonboardcom- Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) DrugAdministration, and USDA's Food Safety that the phytosanitary status of a shipment
moditieswillundergobeforeenteringthemarketplace.
NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY
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iir
1022596573
meets the phytosanitary standards of the United
States. Anyone wishing to import certain plants
and plant products into the United States is
required to have a phytosanitary certificate.
PPQ employees advise importers on phytosani-
tary restrictions and provide information
(including regulations, policies, and procedures)
on bringing agricultural commodities into the
United States.
The intended purpose of a phytosanitary certifi-
cate is to expedite the entry of plants or plant
products into the United States while protecting
American agriculture. Through its issuance of a
phytosanitary certificate, an exporting country is
verifying that the shipment has been inspected
and conforms to the phytosanitary import
requirements of the United States. In addition,
the phytosanitary certificate indicates that the
shipment is free of pests and diseases that do
not exist in the United States. Importers may
obtain information or import permits by contacting:
USDA-APHIS-PPQ
Permit Unit
4700 River Road, Unit 136
Riverdale, MD 20737
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Thisteamrandomlyselectspalletsofimportedagriculturalproducts
forinspection

APHIS' Veterinary Services (VS) regulates the
importation of live animals, poultry, pet birds, and
animal products, such as meats, cheeses,
casein, gelatins, certain animal hides and racks,
—
and germplasm both semen and embryos. VS
carefully monitors all of these commodities in
case they are infected with foreign animal dis-
eases, such as avian influenza or foot-and-
mouth disease, that could threaten U.S. livestock
populations. For example, countries that have
outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease are not
allowed to export fresh, chilled, or frozen meats
to the United States. However, such meat prod-
ucts can be shipped into this country if they have
been heat-processed or cured according to
APHIS standards. VS establishes similar
requirements for countries where other animal
diseases exist. Certain live animals, including
pet birds, imported from foreign countries may
have to be quarantined in USDA animal import
centers located in New York, Miami, or Los
Angeles before entering the United States.
For permit applications and information about
import requirements and user fees related to
importing animals, birds, and animal products,
contact
USDA-APHIS-VS
National Center for Import/Export
4700 River Road, Unit 40
Riverdale, MD 20737-1231
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Other Threats
American agriculture is also threatened by alien
noxious weeds. Each year, farmers and ranch-
ers spend billions of dollars to control invasive
noxious weeds. Homeowners spend millions
more each year trying to control these weeds.
Yellow starthistle, exotic bur reed, giant salvinia,
tropical soda apple, and water spinach are just a
few foreign weeds damaging our agricultural
resources today.
ASITCofficerslitsaspicesacl<toexamineitscontents. Tfieexterior
labelingmustrepresentwhat'sinside. (APHISfilephoto.)
Additional Information
you have any questions about the SITC pro-
If
gram or if you want to report smuggling activity,
please e-mail your concerns to
[email protected] or call the National
Hotline at [phone]. For the local SITC
unit near you, visit our Web site at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/trade and follow
the links.
What You Can Do
If you become aware of potential smuggling of
prohibited exotic fruits, vegetables, or meat prod-
ucts, you can help by contacting your local SITC
office. USDA protects the confidentiality of all
information sources.
NortheastSITCWorkUnit: Mid-AtlanticSITCWorkUnit:
Connecticut. Massachusetts. Delaware. District of
Maine. New Hampshire. Columbia. Maryland. New
NewYork. Rhode Island, Jersey. Pennsylvania.
andVermont Virginia, andWestVirginia
USDA,APHIS. PPQ. SITC USDA.APHIS. PPQ. SITC
1 Winners Circle. Suite 203 1201 Corbin Street, Third Fl.
Albany. NY 12205-1121 Elizabeth. NJ 07201
[phone] [phone]
Metropolitan NewYorkSITC SoutheastCentral SITCWork
WorkUnit: NewYorkCity. Unit: Alabama. Georgia.
John F. Kennedy Mississippi. North Carolina.
InternationalAirport. Long South Carolina, and
Island, and Brooklyn Tennessee
USDA.APHIS, PPQ,SITC USDA.APHIS. PPQ. SITC
JFKIA. AMB Building75, 1498 Klondike Road.
Room 227A Suite200
Jamaica, NY 11430 Conyers, GA30094-5169
[phone] [phone]
North and Central Florida SITC Long Beachand Inland
WorkUnit: North and Central California SITCWorkUnit:
Florida Californiacounties of
USDA,APHIS, PPQ, SITC Fresno, Kern, Kings,
5796 HoffnerAvenue, Madera, Mono, Riverside,
Suite 607 San Bernardino, Tulare, and
Orlando, FL32882 the eastern halfof Los
Angeles County
[phone]
USDA,APHIS, PPQ, SITC
Southern Florida SITCWork 5600 Rickenbacker Road,
Unit: Southern Florida Box7
USDA,APHIS, PPQ, SITC Bell, CA90201
2630 Northwest66thAve. [phone]
Building 701, Suite207
Miami, FL33159 LosAngeles-PacificSITCWork
Unit: American Samoa,
[phone] Guam, and Hawaii; the
Californiacounties ofSanta
Puerto Ricoandthe U.S. Barbara, San Luis Obispo,
Virgin IslandsSITCWorkUnit: Ventura, andthewestern
Puerto Rico, SaintThomas, halfof LosAngeles County
SaintJohn, and SaintCroix USDA,APHIS, PPQ, SITC
USDA,APHIS. PPQ, SITC 5600 Rickenbacker Road,
CaribbeanAirport Facilities Box7
Building Bell, CA90201
150 Central Sector Road, [phone]
2d Floor, Office2-A
Carolina, PR 00970
SouthwestSITCWorkUnit:
[phone] Arizona, New Mexico, south-
ern California, and theTexas
GreatLakesSITCWorkUnit: countiesofBrewster,Culberson,
Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, ElPaso,JeffDavis,Hudspeth,
Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Presidio,andReeves
and Wisconsin USDA,APHIS, PPQ, SITC
USDA,APHIS, PPQ, SITC RO. Box434419
20500Van DykeAvenue, San Diego, CA92143
Suite201 [phone]
Warren, Ml 48093
[phone] TexasSITCWorkUnit: Texas
except Brewster, Culberson,
PacificNorthwestSITCWork El Paso, Jeff Davis,
Unit: Alaska, Idaho, Hudspeth, Presidio, and
Montana, North Dakota, Reeves Counties
Oregon, South Dakota, and USDA,APHIS, PPQ, SITC
Washington 11811 East Freeway,
USDA,APHIS, PPQ, SITC Suite 560
100 Peace Portal Houston,TX77029
Blaine, WA98230 [phone]
[phone]
MidwestSITCWorkUnit:
Northern California andWest Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa,
Central California SITCWork Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri,
Unit: Northern California, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and
Nevada, and Utah Wyoming
USDA,APHIS, PPQ, SITC USDA,APHIS, PPQ, SITC
1097 Sneath Lane 6910 Holmes Street,
San Bruno, CA94066 Suite 150
[phone] Gladstone, MO 64118
[phone]