The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) made the filing of Section 8e requirements through U.S. Customs & Border Protection’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) System mandatory. Section 8e requires certain fruit and vegetable imports to meet the same grade, size, quality and maturity standards as their domestically produced counterparts.
This information will begin to be transmitted on January 15th and full implementation will occur on March 1st, 2022.
In CSMS #46187634, the USDA AMS clarified the requirements for potatoes, onions, and open field/field grown tomatoes exported from Canada to the United States. This message states,
“Only the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), authorized Canadian – Partners in Quality (CPIQ) for potatoes only, and Federal or Federal/State United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Specialty Crops Program (SCP), Specialty Crops Inspection Division licensed inspectors can certify the loads as meeting the grade, size, quality, and maturity import requirements.”
Certification can be completed either prior to import into the United States or upon arrival at destination within the United States. However, certification must be completed prior to the load entering the United States stream of commerce.
Additionally, The CFIA E-2, E-3, and C-PIQ (for potatoes only) and the USDA FVE300. FV-E301, SC-300, and SC-301 are the only acceptable inspection certificates to certify the loads as meeting the grade, size, quality, and maturity import requirements.
If you have questions regarding the 8e requirements, please contact the US Regulatory Team at transitionus@willsonintl.com or the USDA at 8eimports@usda.gov.