The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing changes to regulations governing requests to conduct animal health status evaluations. These evaluations are conducted at the request of foreign nations in order to determine eligibility for importing animals and animal products into the United States.

The proposed changes will clarify the information requested from the foreign nations to allow for a more expeditious evaluation process. These actions support government initiatives to make regulations clearer and easier to understand.

Under the current process, nations who request evaluation must also submit information that supports their request. There are 11 factors to respond to, some of which overlap. The actual evaluation process is delayed when the information provided is incomplete or unclear.

The USDA is proposing to reorganize the breakdown of information into eight factors to eliminate the overlap and make the request easier to understand and respond to accurately. The type of information needed will not change substantively from what is currently required