The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced changes to the Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota Licensing Program, effective Sept. 1, 2015.
Import licensing is one of the tools USDA uses to administer the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) system for U.S. imports of dairy products. A final rule published in today’s Federal Register (https://federalregister.gov/a/2015-18122) amends the regulation at 7 CFR Part 6.20-6.37 that provides for the issuance of licenses to import certain dairy articles under TRQ as set forth in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
Among the program changes outlined in the final rule, USDA will suspend the historical license reduction provision, currently set to expire in the beginning of 2016, for an additional seven years. This change will allow license holders to adjust to changing market conditions affecting the dairy sector.
USDA will also modify procedures for collecting licensing fees in order to better align fee collection to the costs of administering the program.
In addition, USDA will increase the efficiency of program operations by requiring the use of electronic communications in the application, reporting and payment processes.