General Guidelines for Risk Analysis Relative to Veterinary Services
Benchmark Risk Levels
The APHIS policy has now expanded the three-category risk classification
system to include five benchmark risk levels:
Negligible-,
Slight-,
Low-,
Moderate-, and
High risk.
The negligible-, slight-, and high-risk benchmarks correspond roughly to the free,
modified-free, and affected classifications previously applied. The low- and
moderate-risk benchmarks are new. The low-risk benchmark may be thought of as
a free-with-vaccination benchmark, and the moderate-risk benchmark applies to
regions where the disease agent is known to exist, but at a low prevalence.
The free-with-vaccination benchmark has recently been applied to help implement
the 20,000 metric ton tariff-rate quota negotiated for U.S. Beef imports from
Argentina as part of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade. These imports could not have been accomplished under the three-category
system previously employed.
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