An Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service official has stated by phone that he expects the trade to switch to the improved Lacey Act Amendment Plant and Plant Product Declaration Form (PPQ 505, dated August 2011) as soon as possible. He expected that importers could be using the new form exclusively after a few weeks have passed. The revised form PPQ 505 is in landscape format and has a new Supplemental Form (PPQ 505B) for additional articles and parts.
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 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has posted to its website a revised version of the Lacey Act Amendment Plant and Plant Product Declaration Form (PPQ 505) for imported plants and plant products. APHIS has also posted a new Supplemental Form (PPQ 505B) for additional articles and parts.
The Justice Department has issued the July 2011 issue of the U.S. Attorneys' Bulletin on environmental crimes which highlights, among other things, selected environmental crimes statutes and issues that prosecutors are likely to encounter. The Bulletin also discusses the recent amendments to the Lacey Act to combat illegal logging, covering penalties for violations, implementation and phased enforcement of the plant declaration requirement, and issues identified with the Lacey Act to date. The Bulletin also provides examples of Lacey Act enforcement in cases involving false labeling, trafficking, and forfeiture.
The Fish and Wildlife Service and Justice Department report that the owner of a Philadelphia African art store, Victor Gordon, has been arrested on charges of conspiracy, smuggling, and Lacey Act violations related to the illegal importation and sale of African elephant ivory.
Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 5 - 8, 2011 in case they were missed last week.
On July 5, 2011, the following trade-related bill was introduced:
Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 27 -- July 1, 2011 in case they were missed last week.
On June 28, 2011, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California announced that two commercial fishermen from San Diego plead guilty to illegally fishing for albacore tuna in Mexican waters without the fishing permits required under Mexican law, in violation of the Lacey Act. Nathan Lee, Captain of the ship Two Captains, and Scott Hawkins, Captain of the ship Jody H, admitted that after leaving port in San Diego, they navigated into Mexican waters and caught approximately 800 pounds of albacore tuna. Authorities determined that the vessels were fishing over a hundred miles into Mexican waters near Guadalupe Island when they caught the tuna. Each fisherman was sentenced to a term of three years of probation, and ordered to pay a fine of $500.
Officials at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service state that the June 30 advance notice of proposed rulemaking asking for comments on specific proposals for the Lacey Act Declaration for imported plants and plant products - such as de minimis exceptions for (i) small amounts of plant materials and (ii) composite plant materials - was issued pursuant to APHIS' general regulatory authority. In addition, officials expect the agency to issue its long-awaited report1 to Congress on the Lacey Act Amendments2 by August 29, 2011.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeking public comments on regulatory options -- such as de minimis exceptions for small amounts of plant materials and composite plant materials -- that could be used to address problems that have arisen with the implementation of the Lacey Act declaration requirement for imported plants and plant products.