Rep. Adrian Smith of Nebraska, the new ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, testified to the Rules Committee that the trade section of the America Competes Act of 2022 contains items that could have a "significant negative impact on our economy," and that Republicans didn't see anything about it until last week. He noted that his amendment that would have renewed trade promotion authority, which gives Congress a say in new free trade negotiations, was ruled out of order, so it will not get a vote.
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.
Mandating a broad exclusion process for importers of goods subject to Section 301 tariffs, extending the period of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program renewal, reforming the GSP competitive needs limitations, a ban on importing sodium cyanide briquettes, and changes to the Lacey Act are all among hundreds of amendments to the America Competes Act that have been submitted to the Rules Committee, which has the responsibility for shaping the bill that will get a vote on the House floor (see 2201310033).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Corporations need be careful and exercise due care when establishing their supply chains, said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim while speaking Dec. 14 at the American Bar Association's National Environmental Enforcement Conference's Section on Environment, Energy and Resources. Kim discussed the DOJ's enforcement approach and mentioned the Lacey Act as an example. "If a corporate supply chain originates from a criminally-tainted source, then my division will consider the criminal responsibility of all parts of that supply chain," Kim said. "A corporation seeking credit for cooperation will need to identify all individuals involved in misconduct, including individuals outside the company in a supply chain. ... A corporation would be well advised to protect itself and its investments by exercising due care over its supply chain in light of the prospect of criminal sanction; the potential seizure and forfeiture of illegally-sourced timber, goods, vessels and other equipment; and the unavailability of an innocent owner defense."
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2111 on Nov. 9, containing 40 Automated Broker Interface records and 8 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update includes changes to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Lacey Act code flags, it said. "This modification will allow trade to use the Lacey Act disclaimer codes 'A' and 'B' for HTS code 4415 entries on not new wood without modifying import software or practices," CBP said.
Herdade Lokua and Jospin Mujangi, both of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, were arrested and indicted for trafficking elephant ivory and white rhinoceros horn from the Congo to Seattle, the Department of Justice said. The pair allegedly worked with a middleman to bring in four packages that contained the ivory and rhinoceros horn. All four were sent via air freight, with three arriving in August and September 2020, and the remaining one in May 2021. Lokua and Mujangi also conspired to send large packages via ocean freight. The shipments in this scheme allegedly included elephant ivory, pangolin scales and rhinoceros horns. The pair cut the tusks and horn into smaller pieces that were painted black to avoid detection. The parts were mixed with ebony wood and declared as "wood" with values of $50-$60, DOJ said. The duo also allegedly paid bribes to local authorities in Kinshasa, the city where they live, to get the goods out of the Congo. Lokua and Mujangi now stand accused of conspiracy, money laundering, smuggling and Lacey Act violations, facing a maximum of 20 years in prison for the smuggling and money laundering charges and five years for the Lacey Act and conspiracy violations.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer,D-Ore., chairman of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, want to pass a law that would require importers of certain commodities to first certify that they exercised reasonable care that the products they are buying were not produced on illegally deforested land. If the goods -- such as palm oil, soybeans, cattle, cocoa and rubber -- are coming from a country that the government designated as high-risk for illegal deforestation, importers will have to fully document their supply chains and the measures buyers took to ensure it was not produced on deforested land.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Sept. 27 - Oct. 1 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Lacey Act declarations will be required in ACE for entries subject to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s sixth phase of enforcement beginning Oct. 1, even though tariff flags might not immediately be in place for the relevant subheadings, an APHIS official said during CBP’s biweekly call with ACE software developers on Sept. 30.