The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will begin enforcement of Phase II on April 1st, 2009.
Importation of certain types of wood products listed under Chapter 44 of the Harmonized Tariff Schdule will require a declaration submission at time of import.
The Lacey Act was first enacted in 1900, amended in 1981 to combat illegal trafficking of wildlife, fish or plants. In May of 2008, additional amendments were made making it illegal to import certain plants and plant products without proper declaration.
The declaration must contain the following:
- the specific name of the plant
- value of the importation
- quantity of the plant
- name of the country where the plant was havested
- for paper and paperboard products containing recycled content, the average percent of recycled content must be included
Declarations with false information are subject to prosecution. For complete details visit the APHIS website.