Electronic Trade Document Exchange (eTDE) System for European Union Dairy Export Certificates



In 2013, AMS will begin issuing electronic health certificates for the EU through the Electronic Trade Document Exchange (eTDE) System. The eTDE System makes trade documents, including official certificates, available online to foreign customs and port health officials. AMS hosts eTDE in a secure environment, and all users must undergo registration through USDA's secure eAuthentication process. For the time being, the Dairy Grading Branch will continue to issue paper health certificates, but our long term goal is to move entirely towards electronic certification, thereby eliminating the need to courier health certificates overseas.

We encourage exporters to register as soon as possible for eTDE. U.S. exporters must obtain Level 2 security level in order to access eTDE documents. Please note that the registration process includes many steps, one of which is to physically go to the closest USDA service center with a government-issued ID to prove your identity. Please allow enough time to complete these steps well before USDA transitions completely to eTDE.

• Use of the eTDE System for European Dairy Union Export Certificates: Guidelines for New Users and Companties

AMS will be implementing a new application system called electronic Document Creation System (eDocs) which will create an electronic certificate and send it to eTDE to be viewed by domestic users and port authorities from trading markets (i.e., EU countries). eDocs will have many user-friendly features, including allowing exporters to create customer templates and copy over data from old certificates, thereby eliminating the need to retype information with each new certificate request. Once eDocs is launched, all exporters must be registered with eTDE in order to apply for the EU dairy health certificate, dairy transit certificate, composite health certificate and composite transit certificate. This transition to the eDocs system is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2013. We will announce the exact date as the launch gets closer.

For additional information or help with registration, please contact the eTDE system administrator at etdeadmin@usda.gov. For questions on the AMS use of the eTDE system, please contact Ken Vorgert, Chief, Dairy Grading Branch at 630-437-5037 or ken.vorgert@ams.usda.gov


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