Image Sourced from Journal of Commerce
Last Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said that it is seeking to raise fees for its agricultural inspection program, which ensures that imported goods do not contain pests or diseases that could harm the U.S. food industry.
The cargo inspection program’s fee structure was last updated in 2015, and changes in shipping practices have made it easier for carriers to avoid paying. The program, called Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI), is managed by APHIS, but struggled to keep up with administration costs as agricultural imports have substantially grown over the past decade.
Fees are based on the number of ships, trains or other modes of transportation that arrive at a point of entry into the U.S., whether that be a port or border crossing. However, as carriers become more efficient and expand capacity within their existing infrastructure, they can carry more goods without having to pay more in fees.
“Many railcars are now multi-unit, with double stacked containers that carry around six times the capacity of the railcars on which APHIS based its existing fees,” the agency said in a news release. “The trucking industry has adopted double-trailers and longer 53’ and 48’ trailer trucks, which has led to an increase in inspection costs without a corresponding increase in fees.”
APHIS underestimated the number of ship arrivals expected by at least 50% since 2015, due in part to the adoption of mega-ships. Meanwhile, rail and trucking companies’ moves to carry larger containers – and more of them – have required the agency to expend additional resources with less money. According to the USDA, from 2010 to 2021, agricultural cargo imports grew over 61 percent by volume.
Proposed Fees
