Amendments To Import Requirements for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
Key claim: USDA is proposing to let foreign countries resume exporting live birds and related avian products to the United States 28 days after a highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak, instead of waiting 90 days.
Abstract
(Proposed Rule · Agriculture Department, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) Current APHIS regulations specify that live birds and other avian commodities may not be exposed to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or sourced from premises quarantined for HPAI within the 90 days immediately preceding export to the United States. We are proposing to reduce this timeframe to 28 days preceding export to the United States. This action is necessary to align APHIS regulations with international standards regarding HPAI transmission. This action would allow foreign regions to resume the export of live birds and other avian commodities to the United States sooner following an outbreak of HPAI, while still providing adequate safeguards that the importation of the birds or other avian commodities does not present a risk of disseminating HPAI within the United States.
Why this matters
Import waiting periods after animal-disease outbreaks are a core non-tariff barrier in agricultural trade, and shortening the HPAI window from 90 to 28 days aligns U.S. practice with the WOAH international standard used by most trading partners. For U.S. poultry importers and foreign exporters it means faster resumption of trade after an outbreak; for domestic producers and consumers it modestly shortens periods when foreign supply is cut off, which can affect egg and poultry prices during bird-flu episodes.