USDA creates webinars to help with agriculture import changes

Agricultural importers and brokers will see a big change later this summer when they submit customs entries in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).

That includes APHIS-regulated plants and plant products. No longer will they be able to skip “flags” that prompt them for APHIS-required import data. APHIS issued a notice in the Federal Register Feb. 3 and sent out a Stakeholder Registry message announcing the change.

To help stakeholders prepare for this change, APHIS and the National Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association (NCBFFA) have recorded a series of informational webinars that explain the essential steps for using the APHIS Core Message Set in ACE. The webinars — six in all — cover a wide range of APHIS-regulated products, including fresh fruits and vegetables, cut flowers, animal products, miscellaneous and processed products, seeds not for planting and plants for planting. Click here to view the webinar series.

To learn more about ACE and the APHIS Core Message Set, go to www.aphis.usda.gov/ace.