No New Enforcement Phases for APHIS Lacey Declaration in Near Term, Etc.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service officials recently stated publicly that there will be no new enforcement phases for the Lacey Act declaration requirement for imported plants and plant products for "awhile," as APHIS is busy dealing with the workload from the already implemented phases1.
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(APHIS has implemented four phases to date, for its enforcement of the Lacey Act declaration. Phase I was outreach. Phase II covers nine Chapter 44 headings. Phase III expanded coverage to an additional five Chapter 44 headings. And Phase IV further expanded coverage to roughly one heading or subheading each in Chapters 44, 66, 82, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97. Phases I - IV had been implemented every six months, beginning on April 1, 2009.
In addition, APHIS was considering expanding declaration requirements to additional headings in Chapters 44, 47, 48, 66, 92, 94, and 95, and was considering the applicability of the declaration requirement to additional headings in Chapters 48, 82, 89, 93, 94, 95, and 96.)
Metric Requirement for Quantity and Unit of Measure Still Scheduled for July 1
In addition, APHIS sources confirmed that the requirement for metric quantity and units of measure (kg, m, m2, and m3) for both paper and electronic Lacey declarations is still set to take effect after the two month grace period ends on July 1, 2010.
APHIS is Working on its Required Report to Congress
Sources also acknowledged that APHIS is working on the report to Congress that the 2008 Lacey Act amendments requires. The report must evaluate the effectiveness of the declaration requirements in assessing enforcement, and the potential to harmonize them with other applicable import regulations.
Report to Also Focus on Possible Legislation to Change Act
The Lacey Act as amended states that the report must also include recommendations for appropriate legislation to assist in the identification of plants that are imported into the U.S. in violation of 16 USC 3372(f); and an analysis of the effect of requiring plant declarations on the cost of legal plant imports, etc.
After Report, Regulations Could be Issued to Limit Applicability of Declaration, Etc.
Also, no later than six months after the review is completed, the amended Act states that regulations may be promulgated by APHIS to: (i) limit the applicability of any of the plant product declaration requirements to specific plant products and make any other necessary modifications based on the review; and (ii) limit the scope of the exclusion for certain packaging material if such limitations are warranted as a result of the review.
1In April 2010, APHIS sources stated that the agency is looking into the possibility of accepting declarations via a website. It is possible that they are seeking greater efficiencies in data management and usage before expanding beyond Phase IV. (See ITT's Online Archives or 04/13/10 news, 10040000, for BP summary on APHIS exploring use of a Website for declarations.)
(See ITT's Online Archives or 09/02/09 news, 09090205, for BP summary of Phases I-IV and the headings APHIS was considering for the future. See ITT' s Online Archives or 05/28/10 news, 10052827, for BP summary on CBP's confirmation of use of metric quantities and units for both electronic and paper Lacey declarations beginning May 1, 2010 with a grace period ending July 1, 2010.
See ITT's Online Archives or 04/13/10 news, 10040000, for earlier BP summary on this report.)