United States Department of Agriculture

PPQ—International Plant Health Management

International trade in agricultural products feeds the 

world and supports nearly 1 million American jobs. Plant 

Protection and Quarantine (PPQ)—a program within the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS)—creates economic opportunity 

for U.S. exporters in the global marketplace and safeguards 

U.S. agriculture and natural resources. PPQ accomplishes 

this by setting international plant health (phytosanitary) 

standards, resolving trade barriers related to plant health, 

and certifying U.S. products for export. 

Setting Standards for Global Trade

PPQ is at the negotiating tables of two of the world’s 

renowned plant health standard-setting organizations: the 

International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the 

North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO). To 

promote a safe, fair, and predictable global trading system 

in plants and plant products, PPQ:

n Develops and maintains strategic long-term relationships 

with regulatory and technical counterparts at the IPPC 

and NAPPO and in foreign governments’ agricultural 

and trade offices 

n Makes sure trading partners don’t exchange pests and 

diseases through commerce by promoting global plant 

health standards that are rigorous, technically sound, 

clear, and based on the best science available

n Advances globally consistent phytosanitary standards 

that create the best business environments for 

expanding trade and that lessen unnecessary barriers 

to commerce

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Protection and Quarantine 

n Has led global partners in creating universal standards 

for evaluating pest risk in traded plant products, forming 

“pest-free” areas for exporting products, and enhancing 

the biosecurity of traded wood and wood products 

n Heads efforts to develop and adopt new standards for 

treatments and measures that manage pest risks

n Consults often with industry to determine if new health 

standards are needed to resolve ongoing trade concerns 

Resolving Plant Health Barriers to Trade

Agricultural exports are vital to the success of local and 

regional economies across America. USDA’s Economic 

Research Service estimates that every $1 billion worth of 

agricultural exports supports an estimated 7,550 jobs and 

$1.27 billion in economic activity. To help U.S. exporters 

sustain, expand, or gain access to overseas markets, 

PPQ works to strike down plant health-related barriers 

to American products that can’t be justified by science. 

Specifically, PPQ:

n Negotiates bilaterally with trading partner nations to 

gain new market access for U.S. exporters and to resolve 

outstanding plant health trade barriers 

n Provides technical expertise to the Office of the 

U.S. Trade Representative and USDA’s Foreign 

Agricultural Service as they fight against unfair trade 

barriers at the World Trade Organization and through 

diplomatic channels
n Helps trading partners and U.S. growers identify 

practical solutions that ensure American crops can 

continue being exported when plant health issues arise

n Maintains effective domestic control and surveillance 

programs for pests and diseases with government and 

industry partners, ensuring that U.S. plants and plant 

products can be exported

n Helps secure the urgent release of U.S. agricultural 

shipments wrongly held at foreign ports of entry

n Works with a broad domestic and international network 

of industry representatives, plant protection officials, 

and scientists to help exporters develop, submit, and 

follow up on requests for new market access 

Certifying Exports

U.S. exporters rely on PPQ and its State and county 

partners to inspect and certify plants and plant products 

being shipped to markets overseas—all at the speed of 

international commerce. PPQ:

n Maintains a nationwide team of export certification 

specialists and database that provide up-to-the-minute 

information on foreign countries’ rules and regulations 

for the entry of plants and plant products 

n Works with State and county 

partners to inspect U.S. 

plant and plant product 

exports, ensuring they 

are healthy, safe, and 

comply with foreign 

requirements 

n Manages a fully 

modernized, 

internationally accepted 

system for processing plant 

health export certificates—issuing 

hundreds of thousands of certificates every year 

n Is piloting a new system that automatically transfers 

export certificate data directly to the governments of 

foreign countries receiving U.S. exports, reducing fraud 

and streamlining the certification process

PPQ works closely with international 

trading partners to reach critical plant 

health agreements and eliminate 

trade barriers—sustaining and 

expanding U.S. export markets valued 

at more than $2 billion annually.

USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider, employer, and lender.

Program Aid No. 2202d

Issued September 2016