USDA's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service wants to cut the post-outbreak waiting period for poultry imports from 90 days to 28, a two-thirds reduction that would shorten trade shutdowns after any highly pathogenic avian influenza event.

APHIS published the proposed rule in the Federal Register on Sept. 24, 2026, opening a 60-day comment window under Docket No. APHIS-2023-0069. Comments are due on or before Nov. 23, 2026, via www.regulations.gov.

What does the science say?

The proposal rests on updated disease modeling. The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) issued guidance in 2021 after its Scientific Commission determined the HPAI incubation period is shorter than previously understood.

Based on that evidence, the commission confirmed a 28-day recovery window — representing two flock-level incubation periods — is sufficient to demonstrate disease-free status in an exporting region.

The current 90-day requirement, by contrast, keeps U.S. import gates closed to live birds and avian commodities from affected zones for more than three months after an outbreak.

What would the change mean for the supply chain?

APHIS's economic analysis indicates that adopting the 28-day standard would reduce trade disruptions and generate measurable benefits across the poultry supply chain. The agency expects the shorter window to help stabilize markets and reduce costs for producers, processors and consumers.

For integrators and hatcheries that rely on imported breeding stock and live avian commodities, the change would compress the downtime between a foreign HPAI outbreak and restored access to those genetics and products.

What happens next?

APHIS will weigh every comment received by Nov. 23, 2026, before finalizing the rule. If adopted as proposed, the 28-day standard would bring U.S. import requirements in line with the international benchmark WOAH set in 2021.