Electronic Trade Document Exchange System

Use of the eTDE System for Providing Pre-Arrival Notification of Meat and Poultry Shipments to China and Russia Guidelines for New Users and Companies The USDA Electronic Trade Document Exchange (eTDE) system provides a secure environment for sharing trade documentation with governments and businesses across the supply chain. To work within this security framework, there are a number of actions that new users and companies must take before using eTDE. 1. Obtain a USDA e-authentication account for each user that will access the eTDE system. Users located in the US need a Level 2 account, while users outside of the US need a level 1 account. After submitting a request for a Level 2 account, users will need to be identify-proofed by presenting authoritative identification documents to a USDA Local Registration Authority. If you do not already have an e-Authentication user account, please click on the link below and follow the instructions related to eAuthentication registration. How do I register for eAuthentication account? How do I find the nearest Local Registration Authority (LRA)? How do I get help regarding eAuthentication? 2. Register your e-authentication user account in the eTDE system. If you have not already registered your account in the eTDE system, please click on the link below and follow the instructions related to eTDE registration. How do I register in eTDE System? 3. Register your company with the eTDE system. If your company has not previously used the eTDE system, it must be registered as a new entity in the eTDE system. The primary user that will serve as the administrator for that company’s account must create the registration request. This user will serve as the administrator for that company and approve all user requests to be associated in eTDE as a member of that company. Please click on the link below and follow the instructions related to eTDE entity registration. How do I register my company as an entity in eTDE? 4. If your company will be submitting trade documents for posting into eTDE, decide whether your company will use an automated Optical Character Recognition (OCR) upload process (best for high-volume document providers) or a manual upload process (best for low-volume document providers). To learn more about the automated OCR method, access the link below. What do I need to start uploading documents using the OCR method? What is the cost associated with OCR process? To learn more about the manual upload method, access the link below. What do I need to start uploading documents using the Excel method? 5. Test your company’s scanning workstation. Ensure that the workstation to be used for scanning trade documents uses the Windows operating system, has broad-band access to the Internet, and is attached to a scanner capable of generating PDF documents from hard copy certificates. If using the automated OCR upload process, ensure the scanner’s specifications are compatible with the OCR software. Test your workstation thoroughly before scheduling a technical support session with eTDE. Companies with scanning systems that are not functional at the time of the technical support session will not be able to participate in the set-up process and will need to reschedule for a later session after their scanning workstation is completely functional. 6. Schedule an eTDE technical support session through either the US Meat Export Federation (cdixon@usmef.org) or the US Egg and Poultry Export Council (mlobstein@usapeec.org; JMURPHY@usapeec.org). These sessions are required for each company that will upload documents to eTDE and will provide your company with hands-on installation and set-up support for becoming a trusted document provider for the eTDE system. Before calling to schedule a session, companies must decide whether they will be using the automated or manual upload method and provide this information to the contact so they can be placed into the proper type of support session. (Note that trade association membership is not required to obtain registration support.) 7. Before attending your eTDE technical support session, review the following technical guidance documents. If you have not already completed the eTDE survey for new users, follow the instructions in the link below: List of Chinese CIQ Offices List of Russian Regionsffices eTDE Survey for new companies Frequently Asked Questions eTDE Terminology