Welcome to the AHPA IRC

The American Herbal Products Association's Import Records Center (the AHPA IRC) is a centralized repository of reports submitted to AHPA by U.S. importers or non-domestic exporters to record interruptions of imports into the United States of herbs or herbal products and other foods or food ingredients.

Who should submit reports?

Importers of herbs or other dietary or food ingredients or of finished herbal products, dietary supplements, or foods should submit reports to the AHPA IRC if any of the following interruptions are encountered during an import:

• Unexplained delay
• Hold or detention for sampling or testing
• Other temporary hold or detention
• Refusal of import

Reports to the AHPA IRC can be made either during an import interruption or after final disposition of the import is resolved.

Membership in AHPA is not a prerequisite for submitting reports to the AHPA IRC. As one of the many services that AHPA provides to the entire herbal, dietary supplements, and natural foods industry, all submissions are welcome.

Purpose and use

Your confidential submission to the AHPA IRC will assist AHPA staff in revealing import interruption patterns. Such patterns may be observed with regard to the types of imported products subject to import interruption; the practices of specific ports, agencies, or inspectors; the average time and range of costs to importers of such interruptions; etc.

By evaluating such patterns AHPA will be able to identify any emerging trends and provide this information to importers. Calculations can also be made on the economic impact on international trade of import interruptions, and this knowledge will assist AHPA in dealing with regulatory agencies and in keeping relevant legislative committees informed.

Confidentiality of reports

The AHPA IRC gathers information via a secure online form and all submitted information is treated confidentially. Any aggregate reports prepared by AHPA staff are redacted to remove identifying information as to the source of individual reports to the AHPA IRC and to the importer, broker, and imported goods.