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Apparel | Newsletter |
| USDA Proposes Phase-In For Enforcement Of Declaration Requirements For Goods Of, Or Containing, Plants Or Plant Products |
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October 8, 2008 On October 8, 2008, APHIS, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the US Department of Agriculture issued a Notice of Implementation of the Lacey Act Requirements (73 FR 58925) announcing a phase-in period associated with the declaration requirements for importation of goods that are plants, or contain plant or wood materials. The notice provides that for approximately the first five months of implementation, submission of paper declarations will be voluntary. Once an electronic filing system is up and running, compliance will be mandatory, with a phased-in product schedule discussed below. APHIS is accepting comments on the plan up until December 8, 2008. Background In May of this year, Congress passed a provision in the Farm Bill that amended the Lacey Act (the Act that combats trafficking in ‘‘illegal’’ wildlife, fish, and plants) which makes it unlawful for any person to import or export certain plant or wood products taken from a foreign country. The legislation re-defines "plant" to mean any wild member of the plant kingdom, including roots, seed, parts and products thereof, and including trees from either natural or planted forest stands. There are exceptions for:
The exceptions do not apply if the plant is listed in an appendix to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, or pursuant to any state law that provides for the conservation of indigenous species that are threatened with extinction. Import Declaration Requirements Under the amended Lacey Act, beginning December 15, 2008, importers are supposed to submit a declaration for the subject plants and plant products. The declaration is to specify:
Clarification of Declaration Requirements In its notice of PRM, APHIS states that all declarations will have to comply with the following requirements:
Scope Of Coverage All covered plants and plant products will require an import declaration. The scope of products that will require a declaration under the Lacey Act is broad, and includes certain live plants, plant parts, lumber, wood pulp, paper and paperboard, and products containing certain plant material or products, such as, furniture, tools, umbrellas, sporting goods, printed matter, musical instruments, products manufactured from plant-based resins, and textiles. Declarations, however, need not be filed for plants or plant material used exclusively as packaging material to support, protect or carry another item, unless the packaging material itself is the item being imported. Implementation Schedule & Voluntary Submission CBP is currently developing an electronic reporting system that will collect the required data and it anticipates completing the electronic system by April 1, 2009. APHIS states that it intends to begin enforcement of the declaration requirements upon completion of the electronic system. In the meantime, from December 15, 2008, to April 1, 2009, or as soon thereafter as the electronic system is available, APHIS will make a paper declaration form available for voluntary submission APHIS will publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing the availability of the paper form and soliciting comments from the public (as well as affected agencies). On April 1, 2009, enforcement is to begin with Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) Chapters Ch. 44 (wood & articles of wood) and Ch. 6 (live trees, plants, bulbs, cut flowers, ornamental foliage, etc.). On July 1, 2009, other chapters, such as: Ch. 47 (wood pulp), Ch. 48 (paper & articles of), Ch. 92 (musical instruments), and Ch. 94 (furniture) would follow. Then, by September 30, 2009, and based on experience with the implementation of the electronic system for declaration data collection, USDA plans to phase in enforcement of the declaration requirements for additional chapters, including (but not limited to):
No agencies with Lacey Act enforcement authority are to bring enforcement actions for failing to complete the paper declaration form before the electronic system for data collection is available (April 1, 2009, or later). For more information regarding these issues, contact George Tuttle, III at (415) 986-8780 or geo@tuttlelaw.com. George R. Tuttle, III is an attorney with the Law Offices of George R. Tuttle in San Francisco. The information in this article is general in nature, and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to create an attorney-client relationship with respect to any event or occurrence, and may not be considered as such. Copyright © 2008 by Tuttle Law Offices. All rights reserved. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our offices or by others, we do not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and are not responsible for any errors, omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. |
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