USDA RAISES IMPORT/EXPORT USER FEES

USDA RAISES IMPORT/EXPORT USER FEES    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will raise its user fees for import- and export-related services starting Oct. 1.
   The agency said the fee increases are needed to help cover its operations costs. The fees cover import and export services for animals, animal products, birds, germ plasm, organisms and vectors.
   APHIS is authorized to impose user fees under the 1990 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act. Since implementing user fees in 1992, the agency has adjusted the user fees twice. Most of the user fees have not been adjusted since 1996.
   APHIS said its new user fees were based on its operating costs for fiscal 1999, including rent, equipment replacement, billings, collections, and maintaining a reserve, in addition to adjustments in the salaries of employees who provide these services.
   The agency says the increased user fees should have a minimal financial impact on the industry. During the next five years, more than 57 percent of the individual user fee increases are $1 or less. More than 88 percent are less than $10. The fees also represent a small fraction of the value of the affected animals, the agency said.