Please download and read the attached Federal Register Publication dated May, 31, 2024 – allowing APHIS / USDA their 6-month advance notification.  Any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our office.

Revised Lacey Act – Phase VII December 1 2024

Thanks and Best Regards

Steve Sanders

On Oct. 1, customs brokers will see new tariff flags for USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Lacey, requiring transmission of a Lacey Act declaration or a valid disclaim for products classified in these tariff categories.

The product categories include new wooden pallets, containers or packaging that are NOT under load, some essential oils, additional musical instruments, oriented strand board, bi-pods and tripods, and trunks, cases, and suitcases. The specific HTS numbers are listed below.

NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) Chair Mike Lahar of A.N. Deringer participated last week in a timely and informative webinar sponsored by the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association (NWPCA) on the APHIS Lacey requirements. He was joined by Karen Williams, Compliance Specialist at APHIS. The focus of the webinar was on pallets and both speakers emphasized that the declaration requirement does not apply to pallets (new or used) that are “under load.” Nor does it apply to used, recycled, or repaired pallets – whether empty or under load. In both cases, a disclaim code A or B must be transmitted. The declaration must be provided for new pallets that are the product being imported.

Lahar provided a practical perspective on the filing requirements, clarifying when a broker needs to file the declaration, and when to transmit a disclaim code. To view a replay of the webinar, go here and use this Access Passcode: LaceyAct_0921.

For more information, visit the APHIS Lacey Act website here.

Following are the HTS numbers that will be flagged beginning Oct. 1:

Ch. 33 Headings (Essential Oils)

3301295109—essential oils of cedarwood

• 3301295121—essential oils of linaloe or bois de rose
• 3301295139—essential oils of sandalwood

Ch. 42 Headings (Trunks, Cases, Suitcases)

4202292000—trunks, cases, and suitcases of wood

• 4202992000—other, of wood, not lined
• 4202993000—other, of wood, lined

Ch. 44 Headings (Wood and Articles of Wood)

• 441012—oriented strand board (OSB)
• 4415—cases, boxes, crates, drums, containers, pallets, box-pallets, etc.

Ch. 92 Headings (Musical Instruments)

•  9205902000—wind musical instruments: bagpipes
• 9205904020—clarinets
• 9205904080—other (woodwind instruments)
• 9205904060—flutes and piccolos
• 9206002000—drums
• 9207900040—musical instruments (fretted string instruments)
• 92—parts and accessories for musical instruments of heading 9202
• 9209992000—parts and accessories for bagpipes
• 9209994040—parts and accessories for other woodwind instruments
• 9209998000—other

Ch. 96 Headings (Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles)

9620005500—monopods, bipods, tripods, and similar articles of wood

Make sure your wood packing material has been properly heat or methyl bromide treated!   U.S.D.A. is refusing shipments that contain pallets and wood packing material that is not properly marked are treated with ISPM 15 or IPPC logos.  Make sure your shipment is admissible and become familiar with the information on the web site links listed below.  Having your shipment refused by the U.S.D.A. is costly, inconvenient and not fun.

In a multi national effort the U.S.D.A. has been working to stop the infestation of bugs and pests.  A major part of their endeavor are regulations that prohibit or restrict the importation of wood packing material whose origin are other than Canada,  the USA or northern regions of Mexico.  Wood packing materials must be affixed with the proper ISPM 15 or IPPC logo.

Recent meetings with local CBP Agriculture Officers has solicited current written instructions that can be distributed to the importing trade community.  We have been told that local authorities are working on such a publication and will advise the brokers, carriers and importers as soon as a definitive set of guidelines have been developed and deployed.

Suffice it to say that CBP Agirculture’s main goal is not to just reject the wood packing material if it fails to have the proper markings.  Their goals are to target high risk timber pests by:

1. Looking for bark on all wood products
2. Looking for holes and areas on the wood where pests might hide, and then
3. Look for the proper treatment logo stamps.

Local CBP Agriculture advises the importing public that they can annotate their invoice or affix an affidavit or addendum to the invoice that states the source and origin of the wood packing material.  That is to say if all of the wood pallets are made in Canada an importer might choose to annotate on the invoice something to the effect of “all wood packing materials are a product of Canada”.  The U.S.D.A.’s position is in constant flux, but suffice it to say that if the products you’re shipping are made in a country other than Canada, the USA, or Mexico your wood packing materials must have the IPPC logo’s affixed.  If the pallets or wood packing materials you are using are made in Canada, the USA, or Mexico your  invoice / documentation must clearly identify the country of origin of the pallets or wood packing materials.  If your products are made outside of Canada, the USA, or Mexico and your pallets / wood packing materials are not marked and your documentation failes to identify the origin of the wood packing materials your shipment will most likely be refused entry.

For more information click on Resources and navigate to our web site for U.S.D.A. and W.P.M. or click on the following link (Wood Packing Materials).

National statistics over the past 5 month period were provided to our office by CBP Agriculture which we felt important enough to post to our website:

• 468 Incidents of Bugs were found by CBP Agriculture exams
• 991 Shipments National were refused entry (past 5 months)
• 90 shipments at Blaine were refused entry (past 5 months)
• Machinery & Machinery parts importations were the biggest violators (193 incidents)
• On the list of violator countries, Mexico was number one (1)
• China was second (2) on the list
• Turkey was third (3) and
• Italy was fourth (4).