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Smuggling Interdiction and Trade

Compliance

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The mission of PPQ's Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance (SITC) program is

to stop the entry and distribution of prohibited or restricted foreign agricultural

goods. These goods could harbor invasive pests and diseases that could devastate

U.S. agriculture and natural resources.

SITC uses a variety of survey, analytical, and intelligence tools to monitor the

movement of agricultural goods throughout the United States. Our officers and

analysts conduct risk-based inspections, import data analysis, and outreach to

industry and the public to ensure agricultural goods are imported safely and legally.

SITC officers work across the country to carry out this mission, checking wholesale

markets, distribution points, retail stores, restaurants, and the internet to look for

restricted or prohibited agricultural commodities. We also partner with the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other government agencies in antismuggling efforts at air, land, and sea ports of entry nationwide.

How You Can Help
Be Aware and Follow Procedures for Importing Agricultural

Products

The public contributes significantly to the success of our work. Contact us if you

have questions. We can explain what’s allowed and the proper procedure to bring

agricultural products into the United States from other countries, or to move them

interstate.

Once you know the process, follow the procedures, and be sure to double-check the

regulations before each shipment. Pest and disease situations can change

rapidly—just because something was eligible for import once doesn’t mean it will be

in the future.

Report Suspected Smuggling

If you think something was illegally imported—even if unintentionally—report it at 1-

800-877-3835 or sitc.mail@usda.gov. All submissions are kept anonymous. Your

information will not be shared publicly.

When to report:

If you suspect that a foreign-origin plant or animal product is being sold illegally

online (including websites, social media platforms, and mobile applications).

If you suspect that a foreign-origin plant or animal product is being sold illegally

from a U.S.-based location (for example: grocery store, markets, warehouse or

club stores, private seller).

Please include the following details:

Physical location and/or website where the product was found

Any pictures or screen shots of the product

The reason why you believe it is foreign-origin and/or not legal to have in the

United States

If you believe you have received illegally imported material (for example, as a

gift), please send an email with your name, contact information, and the nature

of the product you received. A member of our team will contact you to assist.

Plants and Plant Products
Restricted or Prohibited Items

The following items may be restricted or prohibited from entering the United States:

Plants and seeds for planting

Fresh fruits and vegetables

Dried and processed plant products (for example: rice, herbs, citrus peel,

handicrafts)

Importing Plants and Plant Products

For incoming shipments of plants and seeds meant for planting, phytosanitary

certificates from the country of export show that the shipment is free of plant

diseases we don’t want in the United States. In general, anyone wishing to import

plants and seeds for planting, as well as certain other plant products, must obtain a

phytosanitary certificate for each shipment. Anyone wishing to import plants and

seeds for planting, as well as certain other plant products, must obtain a

phytosanitary certificate for each shipment and a USDA-issued import permit.

Various import restrictions also apply to most fresh fruits, vegetables, and many

dried or processed plant products that can harbor pests, depending on the country

of origin.

Learn more about importing plants and plant products

Apply for a permit

Buying and Selling Plants and Seeds Online

A person or business located in the United States that buys plants for planting from

another country through an e-commerce site is considered an importer. A person or

business that sells plants for planting from another country through an e-commerce

site is an exporter.

View the unique responsibilities of buyers (importers) and sellers (exporters),

required documents, additional requirements, and prohibited items at How To Buy

Plants and Seeds Online.

Questions?

For general questions:
Plant Permits Team

Email: plantproducts.permits@usda.gov

Phone: 877-770-5990

Plant Pests and Soil

Restricted or Prohibited Items

The following items may be restricted or prohibited from entering the United States:

Plant pests, such as live insects and snails, including their eggs

Soil

Importing Plant Pests

A permit is required for the importation, interstate movement, and environmental

release of plant pests (for example: plant-feeding insects, mites, snails, slugs,

isopods, and plant pathogenic bacteria, viruses, fungi), biological control organisms

of plant pests and weeds, bees, parasitic plants, and federally listed noxious weeds.

Learn more about importing plant pests

Apply for a permit

Soil

Soil is strictly regulated by APHIS because it can easily provide a pathway for the

introduction of a variety of dangerous organisms into the United States.

Importation of soil into the United States from foreign sources is prohibited, and

movement within the continental United States is restricted unless authorized by

APHIS under specific conditions, safeguards, and controlled circumstances described

in a permit, compliance agreement, or both.

Learn more about importing soil

Apply for a permit
Questions?

For questions about permits for regulated organisms and soil:

Pest Permits Team

Email: pest.permits@usda.gov

Phone: 301-851-2285

Alt-Phone: 866-524-5421

Animal, Animal Products, and Animal Byproducts

Restricted or Prohibited Items

The following items may be restricted or prohibited from entering the United States:

Meats, cheeses, and other animal products for human consumption

Pet food, chews and treats, and animal feed

Live animals (including pet birds)

Hatching eggs

Certain species of freshwater fish (including koi and goldfish)

Hides, trophies, and racks from certain animals

Animal byproducts and germplasm

Importing Animals and Animal Products

Live animals and their products and byproducts can transmit many harmful foreign

diseases to U.S. poultry or livestock populations. Examples of these diseases include

highly pathogenic avian influenza, African swine fever, Newcastle disease, foot-andmouth disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, swine vesicular disease and

classical swine fever. As a result, meats, cheeses, extracts, hides, feathers, and

other animal products from foreign countries often need USDA permits, proper

certification, or both to meet U.S. import requirements.

Learn more about importing animals and animal products.
Apply for a permit

Buying and Selling Animal and Animal Products

Imported animal products for human consumption such as meat, poultry, and

processed egg products must originate from a USDA-approved facility and must

meet the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) requirements in addition

to APHIS requirements. For a list of approved establishments by country, please visit

the FSIS website. 

Animal Health Certificates are issued by the appropriate government entity of the

country of origin. This document certifies that the plant or animal product originates

from a region of the country that is free from pest(s) or disease(s) of concern, or has

not transited an area or region of a country that is affected with a foreign animal

disease of concern, or has been produced or processed in a manner to mitigate any

introduction of a foreign animal disease into the United States.

Learn more about importing animals and animal products.

Learn more about exporting animals and animal products.

Questions?

Live Animal Import Permit Team

Contact APHIS' Live Animal Import Permit team if you have questions before you

apply for a permit.

For questions about import permits or permit applications:

Live Animal Import Permit Team

Email: laipermits@usda.gov

Phone: 301-851-3000

Animal Product Import and Export
Contact APHIS' Animal Product Import and Export team for questions about current

trade restrictions, testing requirements for international trade, importing an animal

product into the United States, or transiting an animal product through the United

States.

For general requests:

Animal Product Import and Export Team

Email: apie@usda.gov

Phone: 301-851-3300

Note:

Email is preferred.

All Contacts

Ants, Isopods, Snails, and Other Invertebrates

Buying Invertebrates

Please contact APHIS' Plant Protection and Quarantine program before buying a

land-dwelling invertebrate. You might need a permit to buy it, or the invertebrate

might be illegal because it could pose a danger to U.S. agriculture or the

environment. Learn more at Invertebrate Pets.

How Pests Spread

To learn about the many ways invasive pests can spread, visit Hungry Pests.