USDA Proposes Adjustments to Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI) User Fees

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is announcing proposed changes to the fees it charges to recoup the costs of conducting agricultural quarantine inspections (AQI) at U.S. ports of entry. The adjustments APHIS proposes, the first changes to AQI user fees in nearly a decade, will ensure that the AQI program will have the financial stability it needs to continue the critical work of keeping U.S. agriculture safe and productive. More here
 
The proposed AQI fee structure ensures that no one party pays more than the costs of the services they incur. Because the proposal aligns fees with actual program costs, some fees will be lowered under the proposed structure. APHIS is proposing to lower fees for international air passengers from $5 to $4 per passenger and fees for railroad cars from $7.75 to $2 per railroad car. The current fees for these services generate more revenue than needed to cover their costs. APHIS also proposes to raise user fees for inspections of commercial aircraft from $70.75 to $225, commercial maritime cargo vessels from $496 to $825, commercial trucks with a transponder (a sticker that contains an electronic chip that transmits information about the vehicle's user fee payment status) from $105 to $320 a year, and commercial trucks without a Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service transponder from $5.25 to $8 per crossing.
 

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