On March 19th, 2024, the Agriculture Marketing Services (AMS) National Organics Program (NOP) becomes mandatory. For the importation of products indicating organic, the importer must have a copy of the certified organic import certificate issued to the exporter/manufacturer.
The entities that must be certified based on their handling of the organic products:
- 1. U.S. Importers (organic certification required to be listed on the NOP import certificate.)
- 2. Foreign Exporters
- 3. Processors of an organic product
- 4. Operations that package the product
- 5. Warehouses that store bulk or unpackaged organic products
- 6. Others who “handle” the organic products, such as food brokers or sellers
There are 6,120 HTS codes flagged for the AMS organic program (AM7 message set may be required & AM8 message set required).
In order to claim, sell, or market products as organic, a USDA Organic certificate must be provided (electronic or paper).
This information will be required as of next week. Importers must supply Coppersmith with a copy of their NOP Certificate or advise of the e-certificate number as they retain the hard copy for future audit by the USDA).
If you have questions or concerns regarding the AMS NOP, contact your Coppersmith representative for assistance.
