Importers and Shippers Decry Proposed APHIS Inspection Fee Hikes
Importers and trade groups roundly criticized fee increases proposed in April by the Animal and Plant Health inspection Service (APHIS) in comments submitted to the agency in response to the proposed rule. The agency proposed higher fees for general agricultural quarantine and inspection (AQI) and overtime activities, including for the first time imposing a fee on treatment services (see 14042321). The fee hikes would disadvantage small importers, and would disproportionately impact U.S.-Canada trade, said commenters. APHIS is accepting comments on the proposed rule until July 24.
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“Multiplying ship and air inspection fees from $496 to $825 and from $70.75 to $225, respectively, and imposing a $375 treatment fee will have a tremendous impact on the imports and exports of perishables and cargo as a whole,” said Native Floral Group and Sunfresh. “This increase will result in higher costs for consumers and/or lower profit margins for numerous members of the supply chain,” they said.
Several groups said the higher fees are avoidable if APHIS takes a different approach. Many AQI activities can be done by third parties, much like the Food and Drug Administration is proposing for its Foreign Supplier Verification Program, said the American Association of Port Authorities, the Association of Colombian Flower Exporters, Native Floral Group and Sunfresh Farms. Costs incurred by APHIS could also be reduced by automation via the International Trade Data System, they said.
The new fee APHIS is proposing for treatment was a chief concern for flower and produce importers. “The cost of fumigations during regular business hours from $0 to $375 per fumigation would absolutely ripple my company and the overall flower business,” said flower wholesalers Esprit Miami and Cyn Mar. They also echoed concerns from two produce importers that the proposed treatment fee would be unfair to small importers. The $375 fee would be assessed regardless of the size of the shipment, so a large container would in effect cost much less than a shipment consisting of a single pallet, said Del Monte Fresh Produce and Tom Lange Co. “This disparity will hurt smaller importers greatly, especially for commodities that are market sensitive,” said Del Monte. The company estimates the vessel and treatment fee hikes would cause its inspection costs to more than triple from about $80,000 to over $280,000.
The fee increase would also disproportionately harm U.S.-Canada trade, said the Canadian government in its comments. While APHIS is proposing an increase of only $0.20 per container for maritime cargo inspection, truck cargo inspection fees would rise by $2.75 per container, it said. Nearly 60 percent of U.S.-Canada trade is shipped by truck, said the Canadian government. The result would be that the Canadian trucking sector would face an additional $15.5 million in border fees, while foreign ocean shippers would only see an increase of $9 million. That could violate World Trade Organization rules against discriminatory trade barriers, said the Canadian government.
The removal of the cap on the number of times a vessel has to pay fees would also hit U.S.-Canada trade particularly hard, said the United States Great Lakes Shipping Association (USGLSA) and the Chamber of Marine Commerce. Great Lakes freighters routinely stop at multiple ports in a single voyage, said the USGLSA, and requiring fees for every stop without a limit could double or triple fees they owe. These higher fees are particularly unwarranted because most Great Lakes traffic is in dry bulk non-agricultural products like steel, iron ore, and limestone, said the Chamber of Marine Commerce. The fact that most of these ships never leave the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway further reduces risks, it said.