About International Organic Trade Arrangements
The United States facilitates trade with many other trading partners. This opens new markets and provides diversity for consumers.
The National Organic Program works with the Foreign Agricultural Service and Office of the United States Trade Representative to establish international trade arrangements for organic products. The most common type of organic trade arrangement is an organic equivalency arrangement.
Trade opportunities for USDA organic operations vary by an operation’s physical location.
The USDA currently has organic equivalence with the following governments:
- Canada
- European Union
- Japan
- Korea
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- United Kingdom
How Does USDA Assess Organic Equivalency with other Countries?
Exporting U.S. Organic Products to:
Canada | European Union | Taiwan | Japan | Korea | Switzerland | United Kingdom
Overview: Exporting Organic Products from the U.S.
Importing Foreign Organic Products from:
Canada | European Union | Taiwan | India | Israel | Japan | New Zealand | Korea | Switzerland | Mexico | United Kingdom
Overview: Importing Organic Products to the U.S.
Notice to Trade: USDA Reminds Organic Importers of Requirements
Trade Documentation
- Exporting USDA organic products to Taiwan + Japan
- Exporting USDA organic products to the EU and Switzerland
- Electronic Organic Import Certificate
- Importing EU + Japan organic products to the U.S. | Instructions
- NAQS Import Certificate of Organic Processed Foods for Korea (pdf) | Q&As for Korea- U.S. Equivalence Arrangement (pdf)
- TRAde Control and Expert System (TRACES) - scroll to the bottom of the page for links to the Toolkit, Help Desk support and other resources.
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Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS) online – to access data for organic imports based on available Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes, use the following steps: Click the GATS link above. Once on the GATS web page, choose “Standard Query” in the left navigation column. Under Product Groups (third table heading across the top), use the dropdown menu to choose “Organics- Selected.” From there, adjust your query as needed. Once desired specifications are select, click the “Retrieve Data” button to complete the search.
- HTS Code for Organic Products
Compliance & Enforcement
The National Organic Program is committed to protecting organic integrity through the following activities:
- Audits of certifying agents to ensure appropriate monitoring of organic products
- Annual on-site inspections of approximately 30,000 organic operations by certifying agents
- Residue testing program to verify that prohibited pesticides aren’t being applied to organic crops
- Compliance and enforcement activities, including suspending or revoking organic certificates for regulatory non-compliance
- Issue-based investigations (e.g. country- or commodity-specific)
Learn more about Organic Enforcement >