USDA Seeks Comments on Information Collection for Nursery Stock Imports

(World Trade Interactive)

The Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is requesting comments by Aug. 11 on an information collection concerning the importation of nursery stock (i.e., living plants, plant parts, seeds, and plant cuttings for planting or propagation).

APHIS requires that some plants or plant products be accompanied by a phytosanitary inspection certificate with a declaration, an export certificate or a special certificate completed by plant health officials in the originating or transiting country. APHIS uses the information on these certificates to determine the pest condition of the shipment at the time of inspection in the foreign country, which in turn is used as a guide to the intensity of the inspection that APHIS must conduct when the shipment arrives.

Source Document

Import Requirements for Bedding Plants and Nursery Stock from Canada

(CBP)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection would like to remind all travelers wishing to import live bedding plants and nursery stock from Canada that certain certificates are required to accompany purchased plants and nursery stock.

Travelers are reminded to purchase live bedding plants from certified greenhouses in Canada that have authority to issue a CFIA 4702. The CFIA 4702 is a yellow sticker that is attached to an invoice with all the plants purchased from the certified greenhouses. The CFIA yellow sticker only applies to plants meeting U.S. entry requirements. Nursery stock (potted trees and shrubs) and homegrown plants will require a Canadian phytosanitary certificate for entry into the United States. Failure to have the correct certification when crossing the border into the United States will result in the abandonment and destruction of the plants.

For more detailed information on the importation of live plants please download the Canadian Border Agricultural Clearance Manual from the APHIS/USDA website.

CFIA : Changes to the Import Permit Application Process

(CFIA)

The new application form was designed to facilitate the application process for industry, allowing them to have multiple options when filling it out, and providing clear and concise instructions on how to submit a complete form to avoid delays.

While measures like these are taken to provide optimal customer service to our importers/clients, please keep in mind that our mandate is first and foremost safeguarding Canada’s plant resource base. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) delivers programs to ensure the protection of plant health, and it is our role to preserve the integrity of these programs.

In order to continue to operate within our current legislative framework (Plant Protection Act and Plant Protection Regulations), we ask that all applications be:

• signed by the applicant prior to submission. All incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant for revision.

• followed by an original hard copy via mail/courier within a reasonable time if initially submitted by fax or email.

This is in line with Subsection 10(2) of the Plant Protection Regulations: “Where a document referred to in subsection (1) is furnished in electronic form, an original hard copy of the document shall be furnished to the Minister or an inspector within a reasonable period after the document is furnished in electronic form.”

Please click here for a revised version of the application form.

The CFIA is working on having a full online application system using a secure method of receiving and sending confidential information (i.e., confidential business information, credit card numbers, etc). Until this system is fully developed, we must take all necessary measures to preserve the integrity of the permitting process.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact:

Melissa Rodrigue
Import Permit Office • Phone: 613-221-4312

CFIA: Importation of Fresh Tomatoes from Countries Infested by the Tomato Leaf Miner (Tuta Absoluta)

(CFIA)

Effective February 24, 2010, shipments of tomato fruits from countries infested by the insect pest, Tuta absoluta, will be required to be accompanied by a Phytosanitary Certificate with an additional declaration stating: “This consignment originated from a place where Tuta absoluta is known not to occur and was inspected and found free of Tuta absoluta”. Shipments not meeting this requirement will be refused entry to Canada. The new phytosanitary import requirement for tomatoes will soon be available in a new policy directive (D-10-01).

Regulated countries: Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Greece, Kuwait, Italy, Libya, Malta, Morocco, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

For all questions relating to these changes please contact:

Johanne Coulombe
Import Control and Enforcement Officer
Import control and Export Market information
Telephone: (613) 221-4331 Fax: (613) 228-6605
Johanne.Coulombe@inspection.gc.ca

CN10-001 Strengthening the CBSA's Procedure Respecting Importation of Goods Contaminated with Soil

(CBSA)

1. This notice announces that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will be strengthening its commercial importation process respecting goods contaminated with soil.

2. Goods contaminated with soil are not admissible into Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for establishing the policy regarding the importation of goods contaminated with soil. The CBSA is responsible for administering and enforcing that policy to the extent it applies at the border.

3. Beginning February 1, 2011, non-compliant goods, i.e. goods contaminated with soil, arriving at the Canadian border will be restricted to a CBSA-controlled area and may be cleaned on-site by a mobile wash facility approved by the CFIA, provided certain conditions can be met, e.g. there is no risk of soil dislodgement during transport, operational capacity exists, availability of a CFIA-approved mobile wash facility. If a CFIA-approved mobile wash facility is not available, or if other conditions listed above are not met, the contaminated goods will be refused entry into Canada under the authority of the Plant Protection Act and the Health of Animals Act.

4. The costs associated with cleaning or removal from Canada will be paid for by the importer.

5. This strengthened approach is in line with the CBSA's existing commercial processes and procedures, as well as the CFIA's policy regarding the importation of foreign soil. It will further ensure that the CBSA maintains appropriate control over the contaminated goods, thereby preserving the safety and security of Canada and Canadians.

6. February 1, 2010 marks the launch of a twelve-month transition period culminating with the full implementation and enforcement of the strengthened process in 2011. This period will allow industry an opportunity to adjust their operations and ensure that goods arriving in Canada are clean and free of soil.

7. Under the current process, the CBSA may allow contaminated goods to be transported to either a stationary or mobile CFIA-approved treatment facility. However, treatment may only occur if certain conditions can be met, e.g. there is no risk of soil dislodgement during transport, operational capacity exists, availability of a CFIA-approved stationary or mobile wash facility. If the conditions listed above cannot be met, the shipment is refused entry into Canada and ordered removed at the importer's expense.

8. Inquiries and comments about this notice should be directed to:

Food, Plant and Animal Programs
Admissibility Branch
Canada Border Services Agency
Telephone: 613-957-6868, Fax: 613-946-1520

New Declaration Requirement for Imported Goods of Wood or Plants to be Delayed

(World Trade Interactive)

Congressional staff said this week that enforcement of a sweeping new requirement for importers of plants or plant products, including wood and wood products, to bring their goods into the U.S. will be delayed past the statutory December 15 deadline. Under provisions in the 2008 Farm Bill that amended the Lacey Act, such importers must submit upon entry a declaration that includes the genus and species of the plant(s) used, the value and quantity of the importation, and the country of origin of the imported product. Industry representatives as well as federal agencies have expressed concern about the scope and implementation of this new requirement, and there have been numerous discussions and meetings in recent weeks in an effort to determine the details.

Delayed Enforcement. At a September 17 meeting with industry and environmental groups that followed a September 15 meeting with the affected federal agencies, congressional staff indicated that Congress appears to have given its blessing to the delayed implementation of the declaration requirement. As a result, while the statutory enforcement date is December 15, neither U.S. Customs and Border Protection nor the Department of Justice will enforce the requirement until April 1, 2009. The interim period will be considered an “education period,” and CBP is contemplating the use of a voluntary paper declaration during this time, but details of this provision still need to be worked out.

There also appears to be an agreement that implementation of the declaration requirement will be phased in, but it remains in draft form. The concept is that CBP will begin requiring declarations for core timber products first, then over time work its way out to other plant and wood products. There is still discussion about whether the phases will go HTSUS chapter by chapter or line by line. In addition, the schedule of the phased-in implementation has not been determined, nor is there agreement on the list of products and when/if they will be phased in. Click here for the complete article.

Regulators Near Compromise on Lacey Act Enforcement

(American Shipper – Eric Kulisch)

Situation still fluid as agencies still taking feedback and hashing out details on new wood product regulations.

Federal agencies involved in implementing a new requirement for documenting all wood or plant-based imports have reached preliminary consensus with industry groups on a compromise intended to calm the fears of importers nervous about their ability to comply, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture official.

Lawmakers included a provision in this summer’s Farm Bill amending the Lacey Act, which regulates trade in fish and wildlife, designed to stem the flow of goods made from illegally harvested wood. Under the law, importers face a December 15 deadline to begin filing declarations specifying the scientific name and species of any wood or plant material contained in a product, and the country of harvest.

The broad nature of the act has many international traders worried that even products with trace amounts of wood byproduct would be covered, leaving them flailing for ways to obtain the information from their overseas suppliers. They envision an administrative nightmare heightened by the prospect that U.S. Customs and the USDA were prepared to require the use of paper documents, erasing the benefit of the efficient electronic process most importers use to file their customs entries.

Customs and Border Protection and the Agriculture Department’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have nearly completed an implementation plan that would phase in the requirements for the production of the declaration, officials at both agencies said.

Under the preliminary plan, which still needed to be signed off on by key lawmakers and committees on Capitol Hill, the act would be implemented in stages. During the first phase, covering the period between December 15 and April 1, 2009, submission of the paper plant declaration will be voluntary. Importers will be required to file the information after April 1, but in electronic form – although the paper option will remain available.

“We realize that trade is done electronically and that analysis of the data is best done electronically. We’re working hard to make that available on April 1,” Alex Belano, assistant branch chief for commodity, import and analysis at APHIS, told American Shipper.

Belano said the USDA and CBP will use the time until April to meet with industry groups and disseminate information about the compliance program as it is developed.

Phase two is also limited to the most obvious wood and plant-related items, such as flooring, furniture, paperboard and plywood, while deferring enforcement of gray areas involving processed wood byproducts until the scope of the Lacey Act can be administratively or legislatively narrowed a bit, Belano said. Read the complete article.

The Lacey Act Amendments: An Approaching Catastrophe At the Border

(NCBFAA: The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America)

Included in the recently enacted Farm Bill is a provision to expand the scope of plants covered by the Lacey Act, a law that prohibits trade in wildlife, fish and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported or sold. The Lacey Act Amendments are designed to prevent illegal logging and illegal harvesting of protected plants and trees.

One feature of the Lacey Act Amendments is a new import declaration requirement for plants and plant products beginning December 15, 2008. The declaration must contain precise sourcing information, including the scientific name of any and all plant/wood (including the genus and species) contained in the product and the name of the country from which the plant/wood was taken, among other things.

This seemingly simple requirement raises significant concerns:

• The sheer scope of products that will be subject to the import declaration is extraordinary. “Plants and plant products” is defined to include such widely disparate products as furniture, wine with corks, umbrellas, boats, cars, chewing gum, rayon, books, pots and pans with wood handles, maple syrup. In fact, CBP reports that the import declaration requirement will impact 85 out of the 97 chapters in the Harmonized Tariff Schedules.

• The import declaration will have to be collected manually, since CBP lacks the programming funds to collect this data electronically. Moreover, there is not sufficient time to develop the needed substantive programming changes before the deadline, even if funding were not an issue. This will remove an estimated 50% of import transactions from CBP’s electronic processing system, with profound repercussions on the supply chain. This means millions of pieces of paper injected into a process that is now essentially paperless.

• CBP and USDA have no electronic interface so the data will be manually shared and reviewed. This is absurdly inefficient and, given the volume of trade, it will be a futile exercise yielding little environmental benefit.

• The required scientific information for the import declaration is often unobtainable for products that incorporate many types of plant/wood species. In situations in which the original tree or plant source is not known, the law requires the filing of even more detailed certifications – the name of each species of plant/wood that mighthave been used to produce the product or the name of each country from which the plant/wood might have been taken. How meaningful is this expanded list of speculative possibilities to anyone?

The Lacey Amendments were passed with the best of intentions but without a complete understanding of the far-reaching and disruptive impact on the supply chain and, in turn, the economy, which is so dependent on the smooth flow of commerce. Implementation of a paper-intensive requirement for nearly half the 30 million annual import transactions moving in a fast-paced, fully automated trade environment is unthinkable. We urge Congress to roll back the implementation of the import declaration requirement for two years while a review is conducted by an independent agency, such as the Government Accountability Office, to suggest ways that the proposal can be more focused, realistic and enforceable.

New U.S. Law to Require Reporting of all Trees and Tree Products (Including Species & Genus)

(GHY International)

A new law will go into effect on December 15 and will have far-reaching consequences for international trade and will require an enormous amount of resources for CBP to implement.

Sec. 8204 of the Farm Bill broadens the definition of "plant" under the Lacey Act to include trees and products that come from trees, and requires additional reporting (detailed below) for imports of these products. CPB is working with USDA to determine what products will be subject to this new law. Exclusions include common food crops and common cultivars (yet to be fully defined; it is not clear if cotton will be exempted). Outside of these and some other specific exclusions identified in Sec. 8204, CBP says the new law does not provide them with much wiggle room.

What products will be subject to this law?

The question at hand is: what products will be covered by this new law? The answer will almost certainly surprise you (hint: it’s just about everything).

Here is a small part of a very long list of items (aside from obvious examples such as furniture, paper and wood flooring that are likely to be covered by this law:

• Wine with corks;
• Pots and pans with wooden handles;
• Musical instruments, such as violins;
• Pharmaceutical products;
• Textiles;
• Lipstick (made in part from wax from carob tree);
• Dried soup (that contains cellulose, which is a major component of wood);
• Hairspray (that is made in part from tree resins); and
• Anything that comes with an instruction booklet (even if the product itself contains no wood or wood by-product).

Example of how far reaching this could be: Country Time lemonade that is contained in a plastic bottle, with a plastic cap and covered with a plastic wrapper contains, among other things, glycerol ester of wood rosin. Glycerol ester of wood rosin is a common food additive and is prepared from resin acids of wood rosin harvested from the stumps of the longleaf pine. It would be covered by this law.

Reporting Requirements:

Sec. 8204 requires that import declarations state the scientific name of any plant (including genus and species) used to produce the plant product and the country of origin of the plant. If the genus and species is not known, then the declaration must contain the name of every species of plant that may have been used to produce the plant product; and if the country from which the plant was taken and used to produce the imported plant product is unknown, the name of every country from which the plant may have been taken must be stated. Packaging material that supports, protects, or carries another item is exempted, unless the packaging material itself is the item being imported.

Sec. 8204 makes commerce in products made from illegally harvested or traded plants and plant products, including wood, a federal crime and is going to be enforced by the US Department of Justice. CBP has managed to get Congress to agree to a phased-in implementation schedule, but Congress has not approved the actual schedule.

Lobbying efforts to minimize impact to trade community:

Efforts are getting underway to lobby Congress to make changes to Sec. 8204, or at the very least, delay implementation