[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 5]
[Revised as of January 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR353.7]

[Page 437-439]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
 CHAPTER III--ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                               AGRICULTURE
 
PART 353--EXPORT CERTIFICATION--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 353.7  Certificates.

    (a) Phytosanitary certificate (PPQ Form 577). (1) For each 
consignment of domestic plants or unprocessed plant products for which 
certification is requested, the inspector shall sign and issue a 
separate certificate based on the findings of the inspection.
    (2) The original certificate shall immediately upon its issuance be 
delivered or mailed to the applicant or a person designated by the 
applicant.
    (3) One copy of each certificate shall be filed in the office of 
inspection at the port of certification, and one forwarded to the 
Administrator.
    (4) The Administrator may authorize inspectors to issue certificates 
on the basis of inspections made by cooperating Federal, State, and 
county agencies. The Administrator may also authorize inspectors to 
issue a certificate on the basis of a laboratory test or an inspection 
performed by a non-government facility accredited in accordance with 
Sec. 353.8.
    (5) Inspectors may issue new certificates on the basis of 
inspections for

[[Page 438]]

previous certifications when the previously issued certificates can be 
canceled before they have been accepted by the phytopathological 
authorities of the country of destination involved.
    (b) Export certificate for processed plant products (PPQ Form 578). 
(1) For each consignment of processed plant products for which 
certification is requested, the inspector shall sign and issue a 
certificate based on the inspector's findings after inspecting submitted 
samples and/or by virtue of processing received.
    (2) The original certificate shall immediately upon its issuance be 
delivered or mailed to the applicant or a person designated by the 
applicant.
    (3) One copy of each certificate shall be filed in the office of 
inspection at the port of certification.
    (4) The Administrator may authorize inspectors to issue certificates 
on the basis of inspections made by cooperating Federal, State, and 
county agencies. The Administrator may also authorize inspectors to 
issue a certificate on the basis of a laboratory test or an inspection 
performed by a non-government facility accredited in accordance with 
Sec. 353.8.
    (5) Inspectors may issue new certificates on the basis of 
inspections/processing used for previous certifications.
    (c) Phytosanitary certificate for reexport (PPQ Form 579). (1) For 
each consignment of foreign origin plants or unprocessed plant products 
for which certification is requested, the inspector shall sign and issue 
a certificate based on the original foreign phytosanitary certificate 
and/or additional inspection or treatment in the United States after 
determining that the consignment conforms to the current phytosanitary 
regulations of the receiving country and has not been subjected to the 
risk of infestation or infection during storage in the United States.
    (2) The original certificate shall immediately upon its issuance be 
delivered or mailed to the applicant or a person designated by the 
applicant.
    (3) One copy of each certificate shall be filed in the office of 
inspection at the port of certification, and one forwarded to the 
Administrator.
    (4) The Administrator may authorize inspectors to issue certificates 
on the basis of inspections made by cooperating Federal, State, and 
county agencies. The Administrator may also authorize inspectors to 
issue a certificate on the basis of a laboratory test or an inspection 
performed by a non-government facility accredited in accordance with 
Sec. 353.8.
    (5) Inspectors may issue new certificates on the basis of 
inspections for previous certifications when the previously issued 
certificates can be canceled before they have been accepted by the 
phytopathological authorities of the country of destination involved.
    (d) Industry-issued certificate. A certificate issued under the 
terms of a written agreement between the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service and an agricultural or forestry company or 
association giving assurance that a plant product has been handled, 
processed, or inspected in a manner required by a foreign government. 
The certificate may be issued by the individual who signs the agreement 
or his/her delegate.
    (1) Contents of written agreement. In each written agreement, APHIS 
shall agree to cooperate and coordinate with the signatory agricultural 
or forestry company or association to facilitate the issuance of 
industry-issued certificates and to monitor activities under the 
agreement, and the concerned agricultural or forestry company or 
association agrees to comply with the requirements of the agreement. 
Each agreement shall specify the articles subject to the agreement and 
any measures necessary to prevent the introduction and dissemination 
into specified foreign countries of specified injurious plant pests. 
These measures could include such treatments as refrigeration, heat 
treatment, kiln drying, etc., and must include all necessary preshipment 
inspections and subsequent sign-offs and product labeling as identified 
by Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), APHIS, based on the import 
requirements of the foreign country.
    (2) Termination of agreement. An agreement may be terminated by any 
signatory to the agreement by giving written notice of termination to 
the other party. The effective date of the termination will be 15 days 
after the

[[Page 439]]

date of actual receipt of the written notice. Any agreement may be 
immediately withdrawn by the Administrator if he or she determines that 
articles covered by the agreement were moved in violation of any 
requirement of this chapter or any provision of the agreement. If the 
withdrawal is oral, the decision to withdraw the agreement and the 
reasons for the withdrawal of the agreement shall be confirmed in 
writing as promptly as circumstances permit. Withdrawal of an agreement 
may be appealed in writing to the Administrator within 10 days after 
receipt of the written notification of the withdrawal. The appeal shall 
state all of the facts and reasons upon which the appellant relies to 
show that the agreement was wrongfully withdrawn. The Administrator 
shall grant or deny the appeal, in writing, stating the reasons for 
granting or denying the appeal as promptly as circumstances permit. If 
there is a conflict as to any material fact and the person from whom the 
agreement is withdrawn requests a hearing, a hearing shall be held to 
resolve the conflict. Rules of practice concerning the hearing shall be 
adopted by the Administrator. No written agreement will be signed with 
an individual or a company representative of the concerned agricultural 
or forestry company or association who has had a written agreement 
withdrawn during the 12 months following such withdrawal, unless the 
withdrawn agreement was reinstated upon appeal.
    (e) Certificate of heat treatment (PPQ Form 553). For each 
consignment containing coniferous packing materials for which 
certification is requested, the exporter or his or her representative 
shall complete blocks 1 through 4 of PPQ Form 553 and submit the 
original form and one copy to an inspector. The inspector shall complete 
and sign both the original form and the copy.
    (2) The original certificate of heat treatment shall immediately 
upon its issuance be delivered or mailed to the applicant or a person 
designated by the applicant.
    (3) One copy of each certificate shall be filed in the office of 
inspection.
    (4) The exporter or his or her representative must keep on file at 
his or her office a copy of each certificate issued in his or her name 
and documentation showing that heat treatment was performed on packing 
materials in the shipment referred to in the certificate. If the 
coniferous solid wood packing materials were heat treated in Canada, 
this documentation must include a certificate issued by the Canadian 
Food Inspection Agency stating that the packing materials have been heat 
treated through a treatment process that increased the minimum core wood 
temperature to 56 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. The exporter must make 
these documents available to an inspector upon request for a period of 1 
year following the date of issuance of the certificate.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 
0579-0052 and 0579-0147)

[61 FR 15368, Apr. 8, 1996, as amended at 64 FR 1105, Jan. 8, 1999; 64 
FR 72265, Dec. 27, 1999; 66 FR 37116, July 17, 2001]