A ban on importation of 201 species of newt and salamander took effect Jan. 28, according to a public bulletin from the Fish and Wildlife Service (here). FWS had listed the species as “injurious” under the Lacey Act in a Jan. 13 Federal Register notice (here), due to their potential to spread a fungus that kills salamanders. The ban applies to importation of any live or dead specimen, including for transit through the U.S., of the genera Chioglossa, Cynops, Euproctus, Hydromantes, Hynobius, Ichthyosaura, Lissotriton, Neurergus, Notophthalmus, Onychodactylus, Paramesotriton, Plethodon, Pleurodeles, Salamandra, Salamandrella, Salamandrina, Siren, Taricha, Triturus, and Tylototriton, but not to eggs or gametes or specimens imported under permit for zoological, educational, medical, or scientific purposes. Exportation is still allowed from a designated port or under a designated port exception permit, but must occur directly from the state where the specimen is present due to a ban on interstate transport.
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.
A federal district judge in Norfolk on Feb. 1 approved a $13.15 million dollar settlement of Lacey Act violations by Lumber Liquidators, said the Justice Department in a press release (here). Agreed to by Lumber Liquidators in October to settle charges it falsely declared the country of origin and type of wood of its imported flooring (see 1510080012), the settlement marks the largest financial penalty ever under the Lacey Act, said DOJ. In addition to $7.8 million in fines and over $4 million in criminal and civil forfeiture, the settlement includes over $1 million in community service payments. Some of that money will go toward funding the development of a wood identification tool that could be used to identify timber species at the border to make sure they’re not listed as endangered or threatened, said DOJ.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan 19-22 in case they were missed.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is adopting as final its regulations defining exemptions from Lacey Act requirements for “common food crops” and “common cultivars,” in a Jan. 25 final rule (here). APHIS had set definitions for the terms on an interim basis in 2013 (see 13070808). The final rule adopts the interim rule without change.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow full filing of Lacey Act declarations through the Automated Commercial Environment “effective immediately,” it said on Jan. 22 (here). “APHIS and CBP are confident that the system is now ready for full Lacey Act integration based on the sustained success of LAP’s pilot project, which has experienced no data or system errors,” said APHIS. “APHIS has determined that its information technology (IT) infrastructure is sufficiently robust to handle the expected user activity, and the Agency will continue to expand its IT capabilities through an upgrade this summer.” Filers may continue to use the Automated Commercial System to submit Lacey Act declarations until Feb. 28, said APHIS. “We encourage all filers to use this time to test their filing systems in ACE for Lacey Act declarations.”
Members of the CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) reiterated calls for the agency to take an informed compliance approach to implementation of the Automated Commercial Environment, and possibly delay enforcement for certain capabilities that are set to become mandatory at the end of February, at the group’s quarterly meeting held Jan. 13 in New Orleans.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for 2015 in case they were missed.