The Justice Department announced that a Massachusetts man was convicted on November 19, 2010 of seven felonies related to the illegal importation and illegal trafficking of sperm whale teeth and narwhal tusks.
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.
According to APHIS officials, including those that attended the November 9, 2010 COAC meeting, the draft report to Congress on the 2008 Lacey Act Amendments (including the declaration for imported plants and plant products1) is undergoing interagency review. As of early November, the draft was awaiting Department of Justice (DOJ) comments.
On November 9, 2010, the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Related Homeland Security Functions (COAC) met in Washington, DC to discuss a variety of trade issues.
On October 27, 2010, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and International Trade Data System officials held a webinar providing an update on the status of the Automated Commercial Environment.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is reopening the comment period on its August 2010 proposed rule to define the terms “common cultivar” and “common food crop,” which are among the categorical exemptions to requirements of the Lacey Act, as amended (Act).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has announced its intention to request a three-year extension of approval of the information collection required by the Lacey Act for the importation of certain plants and plant products.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora has issued a press release announcing that the governments of Bolivia, the Russian Federation and Seychelles have requested that CITES list seven new species in CITES Appendix III, including high value timber species.
On October 15, 2010, APHIS updated its CITES I-II-III Timber Species Manual. This Manual provides CBP and PPQ personnel with guidelines for the import, re-export, violation, seizure, and forfeiture of CITES Appendix I, Appendix II, and Appendix III protected timber species, and is useful for those regulated by the Lacey Act Amendments. (See ITT's Online Archives or 10/12/10 news, 10100835, for more detailed summary of an earlier October update.)
Thirty-nine comments were submitted in response to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s August 2010 proposed rule to define “common cultivar” and “common food crop,” which are among the categorical exemptions1 to requirements of the Lacey Act, as amended (the Act).
The Congressional Research Service has issued a report to Congress entitled “Asian Carp and the Great Lakes Region,” which discusses measures to prevent movement and expansion of Asian carp the Great Lakes region.