Lacey Act Amendments Resource Page [Updated 12/10/2008]
November 20th, 2008
To crack down on trade in illegally harvested plants and plant-derived products, the U.S. Government is imposing an extensive new reporting requirement for nearly all such items, under the Lacey Act, as amended by the 2008 Farm Bill. The range of goods affected, or that may be affected, is broad, including not only raw and finished wood, but also paper goods, musical instruments, items with wooden handles, textiles, pharmaceuticals and more, and the information demanded is significant, including the scientific name of the plant(s) used in manufacturing as well as the country or countries where originally harvested.
In early October, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a proposed schedule for implementation of the new reporting requirements. Comments are due by December 8 on the feasibility and details of the proposed implementation schedule, which requests voluntary filing via a paper form beginning Dec. 15 and staged mandatory filing commencing in April 2009, if an electronic system is in place by then.
Many of the details have yet to be worked out by the government’s interagency working group tasked with implementation, including specifics of coverage, key definitions (”common plant” and “common cultivar”), handling of entries into foreign-trade zones, and more.
We at the U.S. Custom House Guide have created this page to facilitate continuing coverage of this developing issue, to provide links to online resources, and to host relevant documents as well. We plan to add to the lists on this page as we identify new material to assist you in meeting the requirements.
Recent Federal Register Notices
- Implementation of Revised Lacey Act Provisions (FR Doc. E8-23984)
Legislation
- Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3371-3378) — from Cornell University Law School
- Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill)
- Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-1544) — from Cornell University Law School
Lists/Databases
- CITES-listed species database (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)
- Endangered Species Act list (link coming soon)
- National Resources Conservation Service (USDA) Threatened & Endangered Plants database — Find plants protected in various U.S. jurisdictions: federal, state, and territorial.
Documents
- Plant and Plant Product Declaration Form — for voluntary declarations. [NEW 12/10/2008]
U.S. Government Resources
- APHIS Lacey Act page — documents, FAQ, video and transcript of an Oct. 14 Q&A session, and more, including the option to sign up for e-mail updates as a stakeholder
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Amended Lacey Act page - text of § 8204 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, which establishes the declaration requirement, links to APHIS pages
