CBP is putting together a Lacey Act import working group to consider the technical requirements necessary for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to take part in the International Trade Data System, said CBP in a CSMS message. The Lacey Act working group, to be part of the Trade Support Network, "consists of members of the trade whose businesses are regulated by the APHIS Lacey Act Program, trade software developers who support the business processes, as well as representatives from the Lacey Act Program," and CBP, it said. Those interested in participating should email Frank Korpusik at frank.j.korpusik@cbp.dhs.gov by Oct. 24, said CBP.
Lacey Act
The Lacey Act and subsequent amendments make it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, or acquire any plant, fish or wildlife obtained in violation of U.S., tribal or foreign law, as well as any injurious wildlife. The law is administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and CBP. APHIS has been implementing Lacey Act declaration requirements since 2009. Lacey Act declarations may be filed by the importer of record or its licensed customs broker, and include information on imported item's species name, value, quantity, and country where it was harvested.
The other government agencies involved in the completion of the International Trade Data System have become increasingly engaged in that work following the February Executive Order on ITDS, said Carol Cave, director of Import Surveillance, Consumer Product Safety Commission. Cave and other agency officials discussed the progress on Sept. 15 during the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Government Affairs Conference. "There is a major shift going on with [the Border Interagency Executive Council]" as the government works to finish the system by 2016, as required in the Executive Order (see 14021928). For example, there's been a lot more coordination in looking at which agencies collect the same information that the CPSC also requires, said Cave.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service launched a new website that gives importers another option for filing Lacey Act Declarations electronically, the agency said Sept. 3. The Lacey Act Web Governance System (LAWGS) (here) allows importers and their customs brokers to log into APHIS systems and enter their PPQ Form 505 directly. The new system is not intended to replace filing of Lacey Act Declarations in the Automated Broker Interface, but is instead intended to give remaining paper filers an electronic option. LAWGS will eventually replace all paper submissions, said APHIS.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is requesting comments by Oct. 20 for an existing information collection on the import of certain plants and plant products, as required by the Lacey Act. APHIS proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with a change to the burden hours. While the estimated "number of respondents has decreased, there has been an overall increase in the burden estimates due to an increase in the number declarations completed per respondent," it said.
LAS VEGAS -- The place for Remote Location Filing within the virtual Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) is yet to be decided at this point, said Brenda Brockman Smith, executive director of the ACE business office at CBP. Smith, who spoke at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference on April 9, also said she expects the agency to add some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) elements to the system before CBP begins to require all trade filing in ACE.
Pending legislative amendments to the Lacey Act would hurt the U.S. domestic timber industry and increase the risk of ecological damage by hampering the interagency ability to regulate illicit trafficking of environmental products and species, said government and industry officials and conservation advocates at a Feb. 27 congressional hearing. The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs hearing examined the Aquaculture Risk Reduction Act, HR-3105 (here), Lacey Act Clarifying Amendments Act, HR-3280 (here), The Lacey Act Paperwork Reduction Act, HR-3324 (here), and North Texas Invasive Species Barrier Act, HR-4032 (here).
A New York man and his company pleaded guilty Jan. 29 in Eastern New York U.S. District Court to Lacey Act violations stemming from the mislabeling of imported piranhas. Joel Rakower and his wholly-owned company Transship Discounts will serve probation and pay a fine for labeling piranhas as a common aquarium fish on packing lists to avoid a New York City ban on the aggressive predator, and providing those false packing lists to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
A California woman pleaded guilty on Jan. 17 to Lacey Act violations and related charges of making false statements to CBP. Patty Chen, of Oakland, admitted to bringing in wildlife products including shark fins, shark fin noodles, sea horses, dried conch, dried fish and eel maw, valued at $29,760 from Ecuador into the United States. According to the June 2013 indictment in Florida Southern U.S. District Court, she twice arrived at Miami International Airport with wildlife, but declared on CBP form 6059B Customs Declaration that she was not transporting wildlife. The case was later transferred to the Northern California U.S. District Court, where Chen pleaded guilty. Chen, 67, is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
A group purporting to represent consumers filed yet another class action lawsuit against Lumber Liquidators for high formaldehyde emissions from the company’s wood flooring products. The Jan. 14 complaint brought by four people in Alabama, Virginia, and New York who bought wood flooring products from Lumber Liquidators follows two other similar lawsuits filed in late November and early December (see 13120432).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Dec. 2-6 in case they were missed.