Lacey Act Legislation Would Exempt pre-2008 Products
The recently introduced Lacey Act Amendments Act of 2013 would grandfather any plant or plant product purchased before the enactment of the 2008 Lacey Act Amendments, relieving U.S. importers of considerable risk, said House Natural Resources Subcommittee Chairman Congressman John Fleming, R-La., through a press official. Congressman Fleming introduced the legislation on Oct. 9 (see 13101004). The legislation addresses the Lacey Act Amendments of 2008 and lower restrictions on:
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- any plant that was imported into the United States before May 22, 2008
- any finished plant product the assembly and processing of which was completed before May 22, 2008
Such legislation has been discussed and debated for some time among lawmakers on Capitol Hill, said Marcus Asner, a lawyer with Arnold & Porter who has worked on Lacey Act matters both for the firm and as federal prosecutor. The Fish and Wildlife Service does not penalize those individuals who unwittingly import illegal wood in violation of the Lacey Act 2008 amendments, however, said Asner. “This is designed to address a problem that is of no practical matter but creates a loophole that allows the traffic of illegal wood,” said Asner. The exemption of pre-2008 illegal wood likely would produce an influx of illegal wood on the U.S. market, depressing broad market prices and damaging distributors of legal wood, Asner told the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs in May (here).
The bill serves some Lacey Act critics that call the regulations overwhelming. “It is unreasonable to expect American importers to know foreign law," said Paul Larkin, Senior Legal Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation. "Those foreign laws may be extremely difficult to find and that they not be published in English,” said Larkin. “The act imposes an unreasonable burden by making it a crime for importing wood that violates foreign law.” -- Brian Dabbs