The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reminded importers that starting on December 1, 2024, the agency would be implementing Phase VII of new Lacey Act provisions targeting plant importations. In this final phase of implementation, APHIS will be requiring declarations on all remaining plant product Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes that are not 100-percent composite materials.

According to the release: “If an importer imports items that contain plant products, but do not currently file a Lacey Act declaration, they likely will need to file under Phase VII. Phase VII includes the broadest range of items, items as varied as industrial or medicinal plants, handbags, plywood, laminated wood, tools, matches with natural wood stems, products of natural cork, products of bamboo and rattan, footwear and more. Plant and wood products included in past phases include timber, some furniture, essential oils, wood cases and trunks, and woodwind instruments and their parts and accessories.”

The Lacey Act remains a critical law prohibiting the illegal trade of wildlife, fish, and plants. Initially passed in 1900, the law played a key role in stopping the exploitation and commercial use of fish and wildlife in the United States at the turn of the last century when populations had been decimated. The Act was amended in 2008 to address the import and trade of illegally harvested plants, including illegal logging. APHIS was delegated responsibility enforcing the plant import declaration and is responsible for the plant provisions of the Lacey Act, while the U.S. Department of Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for the wildlife provisions of the Lacey Act. The Department of Homeland Security works with both agencies at the borders and ports.

The release continues: “Requiring importers to affirmatively declare that their imports are legal means they must do their due diligence to ensure that what they are bringing in doesn’t adversely impact forests, thereby reducing the demand for illegally harvested wood and the products made from them. It puts legitimate business and industry on a level playing field ensuring that they cannot be undercut by unscrupulous actors who violate foreign logging laws or endangered species protections.”