USDA Proposes Cutting HPAI Poultry Import Waiting Period from 90 to 28 Days

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has proposed reducing the post-outbreak waiting period for certain imported live poultry and avian commodities from 90 days to 28 days, potentially accelerating the restoration of international poultry trade following highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks. The proposal aligns U.S. policy more closely with updated science and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) guidance.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has proposed a significant change to its HPAI-related import regulations: reducing the current 90-day waiting period following an HPAI outbreak to 28 days for certain live poultry and avian commodities.

APHIS says the proposed 28-day period reflects updated scientific understanding of HPAI incubation and aligns with 2021 WOAH guidance, under which two flock-level incubation periods — approximately 28 days — can provide sufficient evidence for establishing disease-free status.

The proposal is particularly important for the global poultry industry because HPAI outbreaks can trigger trade restrictions that persist well beyond the biological period during which infection is likely to remain detectable.

If adopted, the change could shorten the interval between outbreak resolution and resumption of eligible trade, reducing inventory disruption, market dislocation and associated costs.

However, the commercial impact will depend heavily on how trading partners respond. A shorter U.S. waiting period does not automatically compel other countries to accept the same 28-day standard.

What USDA-APHIS Is Proposing

Under the existing framework, certain poultry and avian commodities can face a 90-day waiting period following an HPAI outbreak before eligibility for importation is restored.

APHIS is proposing to reduce this to: 28 days

The agency says this reflects updated scientific evidence concerning the HPAI incubation period and international animal-health standards. The 28-day period represents approximately two flock-level incubation periods.

Proposed change

The proposed change therefore represents a reduction of approximately 69% in the waiting interval. APHIS opened a 60-day public-comment period following publication in the Federal Register on September 24, 2026.

Why 28 Days?

APHIS states that the WOAH Scientific Commission concluded that the HPAI incubation period is shorter than previously understood. On that basis, 28 days — equivalent to two flock-level incubation periods — can provide sufficient time to establish disease-free status when the relevant surveillance and other safeguards are satisfied.

This represents an important regulatory principle:

Animal-health trade restrictions should reflect current epidemiological evidence rather than remain fixed at historically conservative time periods when the underlying risk assessment has changed.

The proposed change therefore isn’t simply an administrative reduction in quarantine time. It is an attempt to bring trade policy closer to current epidemiological risk assessment.

Potential Commercial Benefits

APHIS’s economic analysis indicates that the proposed change could reduce trade disruption and generate benefits across the poultry supply chain, including for producers, processors and consumers. The potential benefits include:

1. Faster market re-entry – Exporting regions could potentially regain access sooner after satisfying the relevant disease-control requirements.

2. Lower inventory costs – Businesses would have less incentive to hold animals, hatching eggs or other affected inventory against uncertain trade windows.

3. Lower opportunity costs – Breeding companies could potentially move genetic material more quickly between markets.

4. Reduced supply-chain uncertainty – Importers and exporters would have a clearer, shorter regulatory recovery timeline.

5. Lower price volatility – A faster return of trade could reduce the duration of localised supply shortages and associated price distortions.