To save importers time and streamline the 
application process, PPQ now allows 
importers to apply for fruit and vegetable 
permits online. Importers can access the 
Import Authorization System at 
https://Web01.aphis.usda.gov/IAS.nsf/ 
Mainform?OpenForm. Not only does the site 
allow importers to fill out a permit applica- 
tion online, but importers can also track the 
status of a pending application or amend a 
current application. Although importers still 
must apply for soil and other plant permits 
through the mail, the agency is developing 
interactive forms that will enable importers 
to apply for all permits entirely online. 
In some cases, however, no acceptable quar- 
antine measures have been proven to miti- 
gate the pest risk associated with a foreign 
commodity. These commodities are not 
allowed into the United States. Other agri- 
cultural commodities are restricted because 
of their status as endangered species. 
Convention on International Trade 
in Endangered Species 
Many plants and animals whose populations 
are threatened in the wild are protected by 
the Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species (CITES). The purpose of 
this treaty is to regulate the commercial 
trade of endangered and threatened plants 
and animals and monitor trade involving 
species that may become extinct in the near 
future. More than 123 countries, including 
the United States, have endorsed this treaty. 
CITES representatives work to preserve 
thousands of plants, mammals, birds, rep- 
tiles, amphibians, and fish that have been 
traded commercially without oversight in 
the past. Representatives convene at least 
once every 2 or 3 years to evaluate the state 
of the world’s wildlife. Participating coun- 
tries enforce the treaty’s provisions and 
impose penalties upon individuals caught 
smuggling plants and other wildlife pro- 
tected under the provision. 
PPQ enforces the plant provisions of CITES 
and inspects all plants and plant products 
presented for importation at any of its 15 
designated plant inspection stations located 
nationwide, or at other inspection ports 
approved by the U.S. Department of the 
Interior. If plants protected by CITES arrive 
at an APHIS plant inspection station without 
the appropriate documents or the plants do 
not match the documentation accompanying 
them, the APHIS inspector seizes the plants 
immediately. PPQ offers seized plants back to 
their country of origin at that country’s 
expense or places the plants in one of the 
many designated “rescue centers” in this 
country, where they may be displayed for the 
public to enjoy. 
Plant Inspection Stations 
Funneling all plants and plant products 
through designated inspection stations helps 
mitigate the risk of introducing foreign pests 
and disease. The stations create a safe envi- 
ronment in which to inspect such commodi- 
ties before they are released from the port. 
Highly trained PPQ officers in the fields of 
entomology, botany, and plant pathology 
work at these stations and have the qualifica- 
tions to identify any exotic pests and diseases 
accurately and dispose of them safely so they 
cannot pose a threat to American 
agriculture. 
These plant inspection stations are located at 
Nogales, AZ, New Orleans, LA, San Juan, PR, 
San Francisco, San Ysidro, and Los Angeles, 
CA, Miami and Orlando, FL, Los Indios, El 
Paso, and Houston, TX, Honolulu, HI, John 
F. Kennedy International Airport, NY, 
Seattle, WA, and Linden, NJ. 
RAE he Ee REE 
To assure foreign 
countries of the 
quality of U.S. 
agricultural exports, 
PPQ provides 
documentation 
that U.S. plants 
and plant products 
meet the plant 
quarantine import 
requirements of 
foreign countries. 
Protecting Plant Health in a Global Environment 7 
