United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Program Aid No. 1829

Smuggling, Interdiction

and Trade Compliance

Program 
Responding to a Changing 

Global Marketplace

With international trade agreements in place,

such as the North American Free Trade

Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade

Organization agreements, more international

travel and trade are taking place than ever

before, and cargo volumes are up. Annually, the

United States imports more than $40 billion

worth of agricultural commodities, and each day,

more than 430,000 people travel to the United

States to conduct business, tour historical sites,

and visit friends and family.

Unfortunately, illegal agricultural imports and

smuggled prohibited products have proliferated

with the boom in global commerce and steady

stream of visitors arriving daily. Many of these

restricted agricultural commodities place America

at great risk. Foreign plant and animal pests and

diseases may be introduced into the United

States through banned agricultural products and

unchecked foreign goods. These pests and diseases could devastate America’s crops, livestock, and environment; and eradicating a single

pest could cost millions of dollars.

A ship laden with goods from abroad docks at a west coast port. An

agricultural inspection is one of many inspections the onboard commodities will undergo before entering the marketplace.
In response to the growing volume of smuggled

and improperly imported agricultural products

entering the United States, officials from the

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s

(APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ)

program created the Smuggling, Interdiction and

Trade Compliance (SITC) unit. The SITC program conducts risk-management and antismuggling activities to prevent the unlawful entry and

distribution of prohibited agricultural commodities

and products that may harbor harmful exotic

plant and animal pests, diseases, or 

invasive species.

SITC’s Defense of America’s Bounty

SITC officers nationwide shut down illegal pathways and agricultural distribution points in many

ways. The unit routinely works with U.S.

Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS)

Inspectors at the SITC work unit in San Juan, PR, open boxes of

imported meat products to verify that the contents match what is listed on documents accompanying the shipment. (APHIS photo by R.

Anson Eaglin.)
Customs and

Border Patrol

(CBP) agents

during agricultural antismuggling and 

cooperative

interdiction

efforts at air,

land, and sea

ports-of-entry.

Besides port

operations,

teams of 

SITC officers 

conduct local

domestic market surveys,

canvassing markets and grocery stores around the

country to check for prohibited agricultural commodities. When SITC officers have evidence that

a regulation has been violated, they turn 

the case over to APHIS’ Investigative and

Enforcement Services and USDA’s Office of

Inspector General for prosecution. If warranted,

APHIS will pursue civil and criminal penalties.

The agency’s efforts have led to grand jury

indictments and Federal sentencing, hundreds 

of thousands of dollars in fines, and seizures of

prohibited agricultural products valued at several

million dollars. If vendors aren’t aware they’re

selling prohibited items, the onsite SITC official

will explain Federal regulations and begin the

importation trace to find the illegal pathway.

Domestic market surveillance and port inspections are highly effective methods to deter smuggling, but there are times when the unit resorts to

other measures. As needed, SITC officers and

other PPQ employees conduct trade verification

operations and stepped-up inspections of cargo,

passenger vehicles, and mail packages to seal

off the flow of goods into the United States.

Working with each State’s department of agriculture and other Federal agencies such as CBP,

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Food and

Drug Administration, and USDA’s Food Safety

Bird’s eye view: A SITC officer demonstrates

how exotic birds can be smuggled into 

the country in containers strapped to the

smuggler’s legs. (APHIS file photo.)
and Inspection Service, the SITC unit achieves

compliance with regulations through comprehensive investigations, sound enforcement, and

strong outreach efforts. The education and outreach campaigns target importers, market owners, transportation companies, retailers, and the

general public.

How APHIS Facilitates 

Agricultural Imports

Over the years, Americans have come to count

on a diverse array of agricultural products for

their dinner table. In order to fulfill the everchanging tastes of Americans, the United States

imports commodities from around the globe.

Local grocery stores now carry everything from

Mexican artichokes to Italian zucchini. Some 

foreign countries have agricultural pests and 

diseases that do not exist in this country. These

pests and diseases can cause devastating 

damage to U.S. agriculture if introduced.

Consequently, PPQ strives to ensure that 

imported products are free of harmful pests 

and diseases. PPQ does this by regulating the

importation of agricultural products with phytosanitary (plant health) certificates, importation

rules, and inspections.

A phytosanitary certificate is an official document

issued by an exporting country, which certifies

that the phytosanitary status of a shipment

A SITC inspector at the Los Angeles work unit operates 

imaging equipment from the unit’s specially equipped van.

(APHIS file photo.)
meets the phytosanitary standards of the United

States. Anyone wishing to import certain plants

and plant products into the United States is

required to have a phytosanitary certificate. PPQ

employees advise importers on phytosanitary

restrictions and provide information 

(including regulations, policies, and procedures)

on bringing agricultural commodities into the

United States.

The intended purpose of a phytosanitary certificate is to expedite the entry of plants or plant

products into the United States while protecting

American agriculture. Through its issuance of a

phytosanitary certificate, an exporting country is

verifying that the shipment has been inspected

and conforms to the phytosanitary import

requirements of the United States. In addition,

the phytosanitary certificate indicates that the

shipment is free of pests and diseases that do

not exist in the United States. Importers may

obtain information or import permits by contacting:

USDA–APHIS–PPQ

Permit Unit

4700 River Road, Unit 136

Riverdale, MD 20737

Telephone: (877) 770–5990

Fax: (301) 734–5786

This team randomly selects pallets of imported agricultural products

for inspection
Additional Information

If you have any questions about the SITC program or if you want to report smuggling activity,

please e-mail your concerns to

sitc_mail@aphis.usda.gov or call the National

Hotline at (800) 877–3835. For the local SITC

unit near you, visit our Web site at

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/trade and follow

the links.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in

all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or

marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for

communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape,

etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600

(voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of

Civil Rights, Room 326–W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call (202) 720–5964

(voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Cover photos: Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance (SITC)

officers come up against smugglers of agricultural contraband all the

time. At an agriculture checkpoint, a SITC officer examines the undercarriage of heavy equipment on a flatbed truck. SITC inspectors (right)

canvass domestic markets around the country, looking for prohibited

agricultural commodities. And after hands-on inspection, SITC officers reseal boxes with USDA-labeled tape to deter theft and inform

the importer of the inspection.

Photo credits: Unless otherwise noted in figure captions, all photographs were taken by USDA photographer Bob Nichols.

This publication supersedes Program Aid No. 1771, “Safeguarding,

Intervention, and Trade Compliance Program,” originally published in

August 2004.

Issued August 2005

A SITC officer slits a spice sack to examine its contents. The exterior

labeling must represent what’s inside. (APHIS file photo.)
APHIS’ Veterinary Services (VS) regulates the

importation of live animals, poultry, pet birds, and

animal products, such as meats, cheeses,

casein, gelatins, certain animal hides and racks,

and germplasm—both semen and embryos. VS

carefully monitors all of these commodities in

case they are infected with foreign animal diseases, such as avian influenza or foot-andmouth disease, that could threaten U.S. livestock

populations. For example, countries that have

outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease are not

allowed to export fresh, chilled, or frozen meats

to the United States. However, such meat products can be shipped into this country if they have

been heat-processed or cured according to

APHIS standards. VS establishes similar

requirements for countries where other animal

diseases exist. Certain live animals, including

pet birds, imported from foreign countries may

have to be quarantined in USDA animal import

centers located in New York, Miami, or Los

Angeles before entering the United States.

For permit applications and information about

import requirements and user fees related to

importing animals, birds, and animal products,

contact

USDA–APHIS–VS

National Center for Import/Export

4700 River Road, Unit 40

Riverdale, MD 20737–1231

Telephone: (301) 734–3277/8364

Fax: (301) 734–4704/8226

Other Threats

American agriculture is also threatened by alien

noxious weeds. Each year, farmers and ranchers spend billions of dollars to control invasive

noxious weeds. Homeowners spend millions

more each year trying to control these weeds.

Yellow starthistle, exotic bur reed, giant salvinia,

tropical soda apple, and water spinach are just a

few foreign weeds damaging our agricultural

resources today.