---
kind: "section"
citation: "7 U.S.C. § 6521a"
title: "7"
title_heading: "Agriculture"
number: "6521a"
heading: "Organic agricultural product imports interagency working group"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/7/6521a"
units:
  - "Chapter 94 — Organic Certification"
---

# §6521a. Organic agricultural product imports interagency working group

- (a) **Establishment—**
  - (1) **In general—** The [Secretary](/usc/7/6502.md?p=20) and the [Secretary](/usc/7/6502.md?p=20) of Homeland [Security](/usc/7/24.md?p=b) shall jointly establish a working group to facilitate coordination and information sharing between the Department of Agriculture and U.S. Customs and Border Protection relating to imports of [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15) [agricultural products](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1) (referred to in this section as the “working group”).
  - (2) **Members—** The working group—
    - (A) shall include—
      - (i) the [Secretary](/usc/7/6502.md?p=20) (or a designee); and
      - (ii) the [Secretary](/usc/7/6502.md?p=20) of Homeland [Security](/usc/7/24.md?p=b) (or a designee); and
    - (B) shall not include any non-Federal officer or employee.
  - (3) **Duties—** The working group shall facilitate coordination and information sharing between the Department of Agriculture and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for the purposes of—
    - (A) identifying imports of [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15) [agricultural products](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1);
    - (B) verifying the authenticity of [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15) [agricultural product](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1) import documentation, such as [national organic program import certificates](/usc/7/6502.md?p=13);
    - (C) ensuring imported [agricultural products](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1) represented as [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15) meet the requirements under this chapter;
    - (D) collecting and organizing quantitative data on imports of [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15) [agricultural products](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1); and
    - (E) requesting feedback from stakeholders on how to improve the oversight of imports of [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15) [agricultural products](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1).
  - (4) **Designated employees and officials—** An employee or official designated to carry out the duties of the [Secretary](/usc/7/6502.md?p=20) or the [Secretary](/usc/7/6502.md?p=20) of Homeland [Security](/usc/7/24.md?p=b) on the working group under subparagraph [(A)](#a-2-A) or [(B)](#a-2-B) of paragraph (2) shall be an employee or official compensated at a rate of pay not less than the minimum annual rate of basic pay for GS–12 under [section 5332 of title 5](/usc/5/5332.md).
- (b) **Reports—** On an annual basis, the working group shall submit to Congress and make publicly available on the websites of the Department of Agriculture and U.S. Customs and Border Protection the following reports:
  - (1) **Organic trade enforcement interagency coordination report—** A report—
    - (A) identifying existing barriers to cooperation between the agencies involved in [agricultural product](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1) import inspection, trade data collection and organization, and [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15) [agricultural product](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1) trade enforcement, including—
      - (i) U.S. Customs and Border Protection;
      - (ii) the Agricultural Marketing Service; and
      - (iii) the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service;
    - (B) assessing progress toward integrating organic trade enforcement into import inspection procedures of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, including an assessment of—
      - (i) the status of the development of systems for—
        - (I) tracking the fumigation of imports of [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15) [agricultural products](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1) into the United States; and
        - (II) electronically verifying [national organic program import certificate](/usc/7/6502.md?p=13) authenticity; and
      - (ii) training of U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel on—
        - (I) the use of the systems described in [clause (i)](#b-1-B-i); and
        - (II) requirements and protocols under this chapter;
    - (C) establishing methodology for ensuring imports of [agricultural products](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1) represented as [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15) meet the requirements under this chapter;
    - (D) recommending steps to improve the documentation and traceability of imported [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15) [agricultural products](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1);
    - (E) recommending and describing steps for—
      - (i) improving compliance with the requirements of this chapter for all [agricultural products](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1) imported into the United States and represented as [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15); and
      - (ii) ensuring accurate labeling and marketing of imported [agricultural products](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1) represented as [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15) by the exporter; and
    - (F) describing staffing needs and additional resources at U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Agriculture needed to ensure compliance.
  - (2) **Report on enforcement actions taken on organic imports—** A report—
    - (A) providing detailed quantitative data (broken down by [agricultural product](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1), quantity, value, month, and origin) on imports of [agricultural products](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1) represented as [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15) found to be fraudulent or lacking any documentation required under this chapter at the port of entry during the report year;
    - (B) providing data on domestic enforcement actions taken on imported [agricultural products](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1) represented as [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15), including the number and type of actions taken by United States officials at ports of entry in response to violations of this chapter;
    - (C) providing data on fumigation of [agricultural products](/usc/7/6502.md?p=1) represented as [organically produced](/usc/7/6502.md?p=15) at ports of entry and notifications of fumigation actions to shipment owners, broken down by product variety and country of origin; and
    - (D) providing information on enforcement activities under this chapter involving overseas investigations and compliance actions taken within that year, including—
      - (i) the number of investigations by country; and
      - (ii) a descriptive summary of compliance actions taken by [certifying agents](/usc/7/6502.md?p=3-A) in each country.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 101–624, title XXI, § 2122A, as added Pub. L. 115–334, title X, § 10104(i), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4902.)

## Notes

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Trade Savings Provision

Pub. L. 115–334, title X, § 10104(k), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4905, provided that: “The amendments made by subsection (i) [enacting this section] shall be carried out in a manner consistent with United States obligations under international agreements.”