Source: USDA FSIS, 6/17/16

FSIS is announcing a final rule that amends existing regulations to provide for an electronic export application and certification system. Developed as part of the existing Public Health Information System (PHIS), this streamlined online component will provide FSIS inspection personnel and exporters with improved efficiency, controls and communications associated with the certification and exportation of meat, poultry, and processed egg products.

By integrating and automating the Agency’s paper-based export application and certification process into one comprehensive and automated data-driven system, the PHIS export component will allow the Agency to more easily maintain a digital record of all export certificates and will provide automatic electronic recordkeeping of the number and types of exporters, types of products exported to various countries, and the number of applications and certificates issued.

The PHIS Export Component also will help resolve potential documentation problems electronically before the product arrives at the port and, as a result, products will likely move through ports faster than they do currently. Thus, storage costs to exporters will be reduced, and the product will reach its destination more quickly.

The electronic system is expected to reduce the workload and paperwork burden of exporters and FSIS inspection personnel while continuing to ensure safe exported meat and poultry products. In the future, the component will facilitate the electronic government-to-government exchange of export applications and certifications, which will assist in the resolution of allegations of fraudulent transactions such as false alterations and reproductions.

The electronic export application and certification system will be available one year after publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. FSIS is developing a comprehensive phased-in implementation plan for the PHIS Export Component. The Agency will conduct formal outreach to ensure that foreign governments and U.S. exporters have every opportunity to understand the benefits of the export component.

Using online credentials, exporters will be able to electronically submit, track, and manage their applications for export certificates. Foreign governments that register for Level 2 eAuthentication accounts will also be able to view and confirm the validity of all export certificates for product intended for their country through the PHIS Export Component’s Foreign Country Log-in feature. In addition to streamlining the export process, the PHIS Export Component will provide automatic-electronic recordkeeping of the number and types of exporters, types of products exported to various countries, and the number of applications and certificates issued through PHIS.

In order to support the costs associated with the new services provided by the PHIS Export Component, FSIS has developed a formula to determine the fee charged to exporters per application. This fee will be adjusted and published annually based on the formula detailed in the final rule. While this modernization effort is expected to reduce or eliminate the burden of physical handling and processing of paper applications, exporters can continue to submit paper applications free of charge by email, fax, or mail, although paper applications will be processed more slowly than electronic applications.

The final rule also amends the regulations to provide flexibility in the requirements for official export inspection marks to accommodate recent and future technological advancements. Exporters will be permitted to mark securely enclosed pallets within the consignment, or closed means of conveyance transporting the consignment (truck, rail car, or ocean container) with the USDA export stamp, provided that the stamp links to the corresponding export certificate. This provision will take effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Through the final rule, FSIS will also allow exporters to use a unique identifier, such as an alphanumeric sequence, to uniquely identify the shipment and link it to the export certificate. The unique identifier provision will take effect one year after publication in the Federal Register. While FSIS is offering these flexibilities, exporters must still meet any stamping requirements of the importing foreign country, and FSIS will update the Export Library to reflect countries’ stamping requirements.

Finally, the rule streamlines and clarifies the export regulations making egg product export regulations consistent to those for meat and poultry products, clarifying terminology, and deleting obsolete regulatory requirements. The final rule can be found online at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/regulations/federal-register/interim-and-final-rules. More information about the PHIS Export Component will be shared in the Constituent Update and posted to the FSIS website throughout implementation.