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.