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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 Southern New York U.S. District Court ordered three importers to pay nearly $22.5 million to the government of South Africa for Lacey Act violations stemming from the over-quota harvest of rock lobster. According to the Justice Department, the restitution order is the largest in a Lacey Act case in history. It had been the subject of a 2011 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that found restitution could be ordered in Lacey Act cases. The three men also served prison terms and forfeited other money in connection with the convictions.
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A Tennessee congresswoman wants President Obama to provide a “full explanation” of the 2011 Lacey Act raids on Gibson Guitar, linking the raid to the recent Internal Revenue Service scandal. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said in a May 29 statement that recent administration scandals “raise a number of questions about who they choose to target and why. The arrogance and lack of transparency displayed by this President and his cabinet officials in events such as the raids on Gibson Guitar and the IRS targeting of conservative groups show a complete disregard for the rule of law.” Gibson and the Justice Department settled their Lacey Act violation dispute -- related to the purchase of wood from Madagascar and India -- in August 2012 (see 12080721). Blackburn was one of a group of representatives who sent a letter to the Justice and Interior departments following the 2011 raid, asking why it was necessary. In her statement, Blackburn said the administration assured no musicians would be targeted, but "provided no real answers about the raid itself." The White House and Gibson didn't return requests for comment.
Recent trade-related legislation introduced in Congress includes:
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The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued a proposed overhaul of its regulations on forfeiture procedures for plants and plant products under the Endangered Species Act and Lacey Act. The proposed rule would increase the threshold for referral to federal court to $15,000, and would provide for recovery of costs related to APHIS storage of seized merchandise. The rule would also conform the regulations to the requirements of the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000. Comments on the proposed rule are due by July 22.
Fiddling with 2008 amendments to the Lacey Act was characterized as both a danger -- weakening sound environmental policy that has benefited the U.S. hardwood industry -- and a necessity, to reduce the extensive time and financial burdens on business and governments, a group of industry representatives told a House Natural Resources Subcommittee May 16. All of the witnesses at the second half of the hearing said they recognized the crucial mission and honorable intentions of the Lacey amendments (see 13051625 for more on the first half of the hearing, which featured testimony from federal officials). And a majority argued for changes to the act, mostly to protect legitimate wood importers.
More resources are needed for federal agencies to fully implement the 2008 amendments to the Lacey Act, though agencies have already focused on educating importers about the new declaration requirements, crafting exclusions, and an creating online database for importers, representatives from Animal Plant and Health Inspection Services and U.S. Fish and Wildlife told a House Subcommittee May 16.