lacey act presentation august 2009

8/14/2019 Lacey Act Presentation August 2009

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United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Protection and Quarantine

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The Amended Lacey Act





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Objectives

Brief history of the Lacey Act

Purpose of the Lacey Act

Summary of the Lacey Act

Plant Import Declaration Requirement

The Declaration Implementation Schedule

Exemptions to the Declaration Requirement More Information: The APHIS Lacey Act Website


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History of the Lacey Act

Oldest wildlife protection

statute in the U.S.

First enacted in 1900

Significantly amended in 1981

Amended again in 2008


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Purpose of the Lacey Act Amendment

Prevent trade in illegally

harvested lumber

Prevent trade in wood

products made from

illegally harvested

lumber

Provides a tool to assistother countries (and

U.S. States) to combat

illegal logging


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The Lacey Act makes it . . .

Unlawful to trade in any plant that is taken,

possessed, transported, or sold in violation of the

laws of the United States, a State, Indian Tribe, or

any foreign law that protects plants.

Applies to interstate and foreign commerce

Unlawful to falsify documents, accounts or records

of any plant covered by the Act

Unlawful to import certain plants and plant

products without an import declaration


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The Lacey Act . . .

Does not require information on legality or chain

of custody

Does not require certification of any kind

Does not establish standards

DOES require Plant Import Declaration

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Plant Import Declaration

Is made by the importer

Is not issued by a government agency

Is being phased in

Is not a technical regulation or standard

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Plant Import Declaration

Requires information readily available to importers,

in many/most cases

Requires basic information:

Scientific name of the plant

Name of country in which plant was harvested

Value

quantity

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Exemptions from the Declaration Requirement

Currently only sections of HTS Chapters 44, 47,

48, and 94 are scheduled to require declaration

Plants and plant products used exclusively as

packing material to support, protect, or carry

another item including (but not limited to):

Instruction manuals, labels, pallets and crating, etc.

Common cultivars and common food crops

To be defined by APHIS and FWS in joint rulemaking

Plants for planting


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Lacey Act vs. Declaration Requirement

The Declaration Requirement is only a small part

of the entire Lacey Act

Even if a shipment is exempt from the Declaration

Requirement the Lacey Act is still in force

Example: Hammers with wooden handles

HTS Chapter 82 no declaration required

The Lacey Act itself still applies to the wooden handles

If the handles were made from illegally harvested trees

the hammer shipment is in violation of the Lacey Act


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What you will find there . . .

Link to PPQ Form 505: Plant and Plant Product

Declaration Form

Links to Lacey Act Federal Register Notices

Links to other Lacey Act related Documents

Link to look up for plant genus and species

Link to Lacey Act Declaration email address Link to PPQ Stakeholder Registry


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Please refer Lacey Act inquiries to:

[email protected]