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Changes to dairy import licensing program

USDA is making some changes to the Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota (TRQ) Licensing Program effective September 1^st. Licensing is one of the tools used to administer the tariff rate quota for dairy imports.

Under the new rule published in Monday’s Federal Register USDA will suspend for an additional seven years the historical license reduction provision which was set to expire with the beginning of quota year 2016; modify procedures for collecting licensing fees in order to better align the fee collection to the costs of administering the program; and will exclusively use electronic communications in the application, reporting and payment processes.

The changes are designed to allow license holders to adjust to changing market conditions impacting the dairy sector; increase the Department’s ability to more closely align cost recovery with the actual costs of administering the program; and allow the Department to reduce lag times, minimize paper files, and increase the efficiency of the program operations.

 

Under these TRQs, a low tariff rate, called the low-tier rate, applies to imports up to a specified quantity. A higher tariff rate, called the high-tier rate, applies to any imports in excess of that amount.

TRQs replaced Section 22 import quotas for dairy products on Jan. 1, 1995, as a result of the Uruguay Round Agreement. High-tier tariff rates were reduced by 15 percent in the six years after the agreement’s implementation in 1995, while quantities subject to low-tier rates were increased gradually over that same period. TRQ rates and quantities vary by product.

No license is required to import products at the high-tier rate, to import products for an agency of the U.S. government, or to import products for personal use, as long as net weight does not exceed 5 kilograms (11 pounds) in any one shipment.

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