Partner Government Agency (PGA)

CBP enforces import requirements on behalf of many other federal agencies, which it calls partner government agencies (PGAs). CBP releases the entry, but when a product falls under another agency's rules, that agency's data or documents are filed with the entry and the agency can review, sample, inspect or hold the goods.

How PGA data reaches the agencies

CBP describes the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) as the U.S. Single Window: one access point connecting CBP, partner government agencies and the trade. The customs broker transmits each agency's data with the entry using the PGA Message Set, and the agency acts on it before or alongside CBP's own release decision.

Agencies importers meet most often

• FDA: food, drugs, medical devices, cosmetics and tobacco products. Under section 801(a) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 381(a)), FDA can request samples and refuse admission to articles that appear to violate the Act; the owner or consignee is given notice and may respond
• USDA APHIS: plants, plant products, animals and animal products, with import permits and phytosanitary certificates where required
• Fish and Wildlife Service: a Service officer must clear wildlife imported into the United States before CBP releases it (50 CFR 14.52)
• CPSC: consumer products, including the Children's Product Certificate for children's products
• EPA and DOT: vehicles and engines; FCC: radio-frequency devices

Example: FDA prior notice

Food imported or offered for import into the United States needs a Prior Notice that FDA receives and confirms electronically before arrival: no less than 8 hours before arrival by water, 4 hours by air or rail, and 2 hours by road (21 CFR 1.279(a)). It can be submitted up to 30 calendar days ahead through CBP's ABI/ACE, or up to 15 calendar days ahead through FDA's Prior Notice System Interface. Food that arrives with no prior notice, or with an inaccurate or untimely one, is subject to refusal of admission and must be held at the port (21 CFR 1.283).

PGA hold vs CBP exam

A CBP exam is CBP's own inspection, from an X-ray scan to an intensive exam at a Centralized Examination Station, and the importer bears the cost of preparing the goods for it (19 CFR 151.6). A PGA hold is a separate stop: the agency wants data, a document, a sample or its own inspection. The two are decided by different agencies, so clearing one does not clear the other.

How to avoid PGA holds

• Work out which agencies regulate the product from its description and HTS code before the order ships, not after it lands
• Give the broker the agency data with the commercial invoice, and file FDA prior notice as soon as the arrival details are known
• Budget for time: storage and demurrage keep running while a shipment waits for an agency

The importer of record remains responsible for meeting each agency's requirements. See customs clearance for how agency filings are handled on the entries Airlift coordinates.