Changes to US regulations will affect organic exports to the US
The Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) final rule is a new piece of US regulation and represents the biggest change to US organic regulations since the creation of USDA’s National Organic Program.
Updated 29/4/2024
The rule closes gaps in current organic regulations and builds consistent certification practices to prevent fraud and improve the transparency and traceability of organic products. The SOE means additional responsibilities for operators on both sides of the Atlantic from 19th March 2024.
Please note that along with new responsibilities for UK exporters and US importers, all organic livestock products exported must meet US requirements related to antibiotic use. If you are exporting livestock products to the US please read our guidance on PWAB (products produced without antibiotics) compliance.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has implemented a new digital platform for certifying bodies issuing National Organic Programme import certificates (NOPs). The platform is called the Global Organic Integrity database (GLOBAL). Consignments of organic agricultural and food and drink products destined for arrival in the US on, or after, 19th March, will need to have an Import Certificate issued through the GLOBAL database.
For further information on what you need to do, please read the ‘exporting to the US’ section on our Exporting from GB to non-EU page. For a recent update from Defra and further guidance and links, please read on.
On the 28th Feb Defra provided the following additional clarity:
Each shipment of organic agricultural products imported into the United States must be certified pursuant to subpart E of this part, labeled pursuant to subpart D of this part, be declared as organic to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and be associated with valid NOP Import Certificate data.
(a) Persons exporting organic agricultural products to the United States must request an NOP Import Certificate from a certifying agent prior to their export. Only certifying agents accredited by the USDA or foreign certifying agents authorized under an organic trade arrangement or agreement may issue an NOP Import Certificate.
(b) The certifying agent must review an NOP Import Certificate request and determine whether the export complies with the USDA organic regulations. The certifying agent must have and implement a documented organic control system for intaking and approving or rejecting the validity of an NOP Import Certificate request. The certifying agent shall issue the NOP Import Certificate through the Organic Integrity Database only if the export complies with the USDA organic regulations.
(c) Each compliant organic import must be declared as organic to U.S. Customs and Border Protection by entering NOP Import Certificate data into the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Automated Commercial Environment system. Organic imports must be clearly identified and marked as organic on all import documents including but not limited to invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection entry data. Only NOP Import Certificate data generated by the Organic Integrity Database are valid.
(d) Upon receiving a shipment with organic agricultural products, the organic importer must ensure the import is accompanied by accurate NOP Import Certificate data and must verify that the shipment has had no contact with prohibited substances pursuant to § 205.272 or exposure to ionizing radiation pursuant to § 205.105, since export. The organic importer must have a documented organic control system to conduct this verification.
Please note that all NOP Certificates for consignments must be endorsed prior to the goods leaving the UK. There is scope for your certifier to make edits once goods have departed GB, however, to avoid any issues at the US border we advise ensuring all details are correct before departure. All NOP Certificates may now only have a single line item per certificate. You can still send us a Certificate for approval with multiple line items, however, we will be obligated to generate a certificate for each individual line item.
Soil Association Certification are in the process of registering all licensees who export organic products to US on the GLOBAL database. We will continue to provide our licensees with a PDF version of the NOP certificate.
The GLOBAL Trade Partner Module is an important step in implementing the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) final rule requirements. When fully deployed, both USDA-accredited certifiers and certifiers working with other government organic standards that have been determined to be substantively similar will be able to generate electronic import certificates in GLOBAL. Organic Certification Bodies (CBs) are solely responsible for maintaining entities within the database. If you are a Soil Association Certification licensee who already exports to US , you will have been have contacted and asked to provide contacts details and a full list of products you wish to export to the United States. As GLOBAL is a public database you may also wish to list products you are not currently exporting but would meet the terms laid out in the equivalency agreement.
You can find out more about the Global Organic Integrity Database from the USDA.
You can read more about the new SoE and requirements for exporters and importers in the OTA guidance.
If you have any questions or queries please get in touch with coi@soilassociation.org.