The USDA Tightens Regulations on Organic Imports into the U.S.
The new regulations help maintain the highest standards in organic trade and guarantee all U.S. organic imports meet the criteria set by the National Organic Program.
As of September 19, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) will no longer accept the temporary code (999-999-T) for organic imports into the U.S. without a NOP Import Certificate (NOP-IC). This code was previously allowed in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).
In an announcement, the USDA stated it is implementing these stricter guidelines to eliminate temporary codes for goods that lack proper documentation.
The tighter regulations also reflect CBP’s dedication to ensuring only genuinely organic goods enter the U.S. market. They will help the Agency enforce transparency and accountability in the organic industry and prevent the flooding of the U.S. market with inaccurately labelled products.
Under the new policy, shipments that attempt to use the temporary code after the deadline may face adverse actions, such as rejection or enforcement penalties.
If an NOP-IC is unavailable when filing, importers must either change the shipment’s status to non-organic or reexport the goods. The USDA emphasized that the NOP-IC must be obtained before the product leaves the foreign port and cannot be issued retroactively.
Businesses that import organic products into the U.S. must be certified under USDA’s organic regulations. All certified entities are listed in the Organic Integrity Database.
Any organic shipment without a valid NOP-IC will not be allowed to claim organic certification status.
ACE will be used to flag non-compliance. The AMS AM8 tariff flag will now carry a reject severity in ACE Production, while AM7 flags will remain a warning. These flags alert importers and brokers so that only certified organic goods enter the U.S.
New codes must be used when entries for organic imports don’t require a NOP-IC. These include:
These entries will be flagged under a specific OR2 message set.
In the event of an extended system outage, the USDA has prepared a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) for certifiers to issue NOP-ICs manually.
The manual certificates will differ from the standard 21-digit codes and, instead, use a 9-digit number ending in “C” (e.g., 840-395-C).
These temporary numbers will still be recognized as valid but must be filed under the OR1 message set in ACE.
The CBP and Trade Automated Interface Requirements provide more information about the OR1 and OR2 message sets.
If you import organic goods into the U.S., please reach out to one of our trade professionals to discuss the potential impact of this update on your business and ensure your compliance.