NPPC shared its support for raising user fees within the Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection (AQI) program in comments submitted in late September to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The AQI program funds the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agricultural inspectors who are stationed at U.S. ports of entry.
“The $1 trillion U.S. agriculture sector is a crucial component of the American economy. CBP inspectors play a critical role in checking cargo and passenger baggage entering the country for plant pests and potential sources of animal diseases that could affect U.S. agriculture, trade and commerce,” NPPC said in Capital Update.
The last update to the user fees for the program took place in 2015. Fees are paid by passenger and cargo transporters, based on cost data from fiscal years 2010 through 2012. The current fees no longer generate enough revenue to cover the costs of the AQI program, NPPC pointed out, due to changes in international travel and shipping, such as larger ships and increased cargo volume.
“If foreign animal diseases, such as African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), reach U.S. shores, they would have devastating effects on America’s livestock producers,” NPPC wrote. “With massive production disruptions and hindered exports, an outbreak of FMD could cause nearly $240 billion in economic damage across the agricultural sector.”
NPPC said it continues to support the AQI program and has actively worked to strengthen it. In 2020, NPPC fought for additional funding to pass the Protecting America’s Food and Agriculture Act, which authorized the CBP to hire an additional 720 agricultural inspectors.
In its comments to APHIS, NPPC said, “Increased user fees can provide the necessary funding to strengthen [AQI] programs, enhance inspections, and implement preventative measures to safeguard agricultural production.”
