USDA sets new user fees for quarantine and inspection services

USDA sets new user fees for quarantine and inspection services    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said it’s adjusting fees charged for certain quarantine and inspection services for agricultural products transported into the country by commercial vessels, trucks, rail cars and planes.
   The agency has not adjusted these fees since Oct. 1, 2001. The agency is authorized to implement user fees under the 1990 Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act.
   “Due to the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the resulting increased security concerns, a greater volume and variety of cargo entering the United States is being inspected,” the agency said. “The fee adjustments are needed to recover the costs of this increased inspection activity and to account for routine inflationary increases in the cost of doing business.”
   According to the agency, the fee changes, effective Jan. 1, will cover quarantine and inspection services costs from fiscal years 2005 through 2010.
   For more information, access online: https://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/06jun20041800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/04-27053.htm.