USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service will Eliminate Dairy and Infant Formula Plant Audits for U.S. Exports to China

Date
June 24, 2020

Because China no longer requires certifications that U.S. dairy and infant formula plants meet China’s requirements, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will, beginning on July 1, 2020, cease conducting the audits on which these certifications have been based. The elimination of the audits is a consequence of China’s commitments under the Economic and Trade Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the People’s Republic of China, signed on January 15, 2020.

To be eligible to ship dairy products to China, U.S. dairy companies must be registered with the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC). GACC registers facilities that are named on lists that are provided to GACC by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). U.S. dairy companies can seek inclusion on FDA’s lists, or update information associated with an existing listing, by contacting the FDA: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-export-lists/online-applications-export-lists.

U.S. dairy companies must also ensure that consignments destined for China are accompanied by a dairy sanitary certificate obtained from AMS. Certificate information may be obtained at: https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/imports-exports/dairy-exports/china-dairy.

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