Applying for Import Licenses for the 2018 Dairy TRQ

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) posted notice on applying for import licenses for the 2018 dairy tariff rate quota (TRQ), which opens on January 1, 2018.

This TRQ covers all dairy products from cow’s milk, except for soft-ripened cheeses such as Brie, and includes blue cheese made from sheep’s or goat’s milk. To enter at the low TRQ rate an importer must obtain a license from FAS.

Dates:
October 16, 2017: Deadline for receipt of License applications.
December 21, 2017: FAS issues first notices of calendar year 2018 licenses to licensees.
January 1, 2018: First day of validity for calendar year 2018 licenses.
March 1, 2018 (approximately): FAS issues final notice of calendar year 2018 licenses to licensees.
March 15, 2018: The license fee for each license issued is due. For any licenses issued after March 15, they are due no later than 10 days from the date of issuance.

The license fee for 2018 is $300, an increase of $50 from the 2017 fee of $250. The fee is based on FAS’ estimated expenses to administer the licensing system.

General information is available on the Dairy Import License Program.

If you have any questions regarding obtaining dairy import licenses for the 2018 tariff rate quota period, Livingston can help! Please contact either your Livingston account manager or our regulatory affairs department at [email protected].