About International Services

Trade

Our Trade Support Team helps keep export markets open by advocating on behalf of American agriculture. Based in the United States and abroad, our experts address plant and animal health trade barriers that could limit U.S. access to foreign markets. We build relationships with international counterparts and use scientific principles to assure them that our commodities are safe to import.

We work alongside the following APHIS operational programs and many other teams, organizations, and agencies involved in global trade. 

Capacity Building

International Technical and Regulatory Capacity Building

Our International Technical and Regulatory Capacity Building team supports APHIS posts overseas by providing subject matter expertise, training, and other technical assistance. We have expertise on a wide range of topics, including:

• Veterinary epidemiology
• Regulatory processes and policy
• Wildlife control and surveillance
• Pest risk assessment
• Biotechnology
• Laboratory diagnostics
• Transboundary animal diseases

Representation, Foreign Visitors, and Protocol Office

Our Representation, Foreign Visitors, and Protocol Office coordinates and supports foreign delegations seeking to understand APHIS program activities or exchange technical information through subject matter expertise and field visits. This includes visits to our offices in Riverdale, MD, and Washington, DC.

To request these services or schedule a visit, email us at iscapacitybuilding@usda.gov.

Sterile Fly Release Programs

To prevent dangerous pests from entering the United States, we must help other countries do the same. We cosponsor programs in Mexico, Panama, and Guatemala to eradicate the following pests:

International Services At-a-Glance

Here's a snapshot of our accomplishments in 2022 (15.96 MB):

• Facilitated new markets for a wide range of U.S.-origin animals and animal products, including bovine meat and bone meal to Peru worth an estimated $5 million per year; wheat to Fiji worth an estimated $3 million per year; sheep and goats to Senegal worth an estimated $800,000 per year; and bovine, ovine, and caprine genetics to Tunisia worth an estimated $500,000 per year
• Worked with foreign partners and other APHIS experts to resolve challenges posed by pest detections, trading partner regulatory changes, and other issues, helping to preserve threatened markets for U.S.-origin goods, including poultry products to the Philippines (valued at $158 million in 2021) and eggs to Brazil (valued at $26 million in 2021), among other markets threatened by the avian influenza outbreaks in the United States
• Expanded market access in Mexico for U.S. potato exports, providing a market potential of $250 million per year in 5 years
• Negotiated with foreign officials in-country to resolve delays with 261 U.S. shipments at foreign ports, totaling more than $94 million
• Produced 1.04 billion sterile Mediterranean fruit flies weekly at the El Pino sterile insect facility in Guatemala, supporting preventative release programs in California and Florida, along with population control efforts in Guatemala and Mexico
• Produced 5.24 billion sterile Mexican fruit flies at the San Miguel Petapa facility in Guatemala (an average of 100.8 million weekly) to support eradication activities in Texas and California. These flies also supported preventive release programs in northern Mexico, Texas, and California to help protect America’s valuable citrus production
• Released 20 million sterile New World screwworm flies weekly to maintain a biological barrier in Panama and Colombia to protect screwworm-free areas in North and Central America
• Hosted 5 virtual sessions for 107 foreign officials from Canada, Mexico, and the Philippines to build awareness of the U.S. regulatory process and ease future market access and resumed in-person meetings, with 3 sessions attended by 29 officials from 5 countries

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