The original Lacey Act dates back to 1900, and its purpose is to help prevent the trade of wildlife, plants, and plant products (including timber) that has been illegally taken, held, transported, or sold. The Lacey Act and its various amendments make it unlawful to import certain products without an import declaration.
What should importers know?
When you import plant products or items that contain plant products, you must provide an import declaration confirming that those plant products were legally harvested.
- The import declaration must contain:
- the scientific name of the plant
- the value of the importation
- quantity of the plant
- the name of the country where the plant came from.
Since 2009, APHIS has been gradually phasing in the declaration requirements for more and more products, and is currently preparing for Phase VII. You can read about the latest Declaration Implementation here. There you can also find out which products currently require a declaration.
The following products do not require a Lacey Act declaration:
- Common cultivars, except trees
- Common food crops
- Scientific specimens of plant genetic material used only for laboratory or field research
- Any plant that is to remain planted or will be replanted
- Packaging material such as wood crating, wood pallets, cardboard boxes, and packing paper, unless the packaging material itself is the item being imported
A declaration is also not required if the plant material in a product represents no more than 5% of the total weight of the individual product unit, provided the total weight of the plant material in an entry of products in the same 10-digit tariff provision does not exceed 2.9 kilograms.
Note: Plants and plant products protected under U.S. laws or international agreements such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the Endangered Species Act, or any state law that provides for the conservation of indigenous species under threat of extinction must always be accompanied by a declaration if listed on the implementation schedule.
How to submit a Lacey Act declaration
There are two ways to electronically file a declaration:
- Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) – The primary method for filing Lacey Act declarations is through ACE. This automated system allows you to electronically file the data required by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and its partner Government agencies, including the APHIS Lacey Act Program.
- Lacey Act Web Governance System (LAWGS) – You can also file the Lacey Act declaration through LAWGS, APHIS’ web-based system for importers who would otherwise file a paper declaration. Importers who are using ACE to file customs information and LAWGS to submit a Lacey Act declaration must indicate in ACE that they are filing their Lacey Act declaration through another method.
- Mail in a paper declaration – If necessary, you can file a paper declaration using PPQ Form 505.
To stay informed on import legislation and important updates, connect with a customs broker.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is amending the import regulations for horses.
The amendments are intended to better align US regulations with international standards, allow more flexibility for importing, and add further safeguards to protect against the introduction of pests or diseases into the United States.
The changes include:
- increasing the number of days horses exported from regions free from contagious equine metritis (CEM) are allowed to spend in a CEM-affected region and re-enter the United States without testing from 60 days to 90 days
- requiring an import permit for horses transiting through CEM-affected regions and horses imported from regions affected with African horse sickness
- adding requirements for health certifications so that health certifications properly attest to the health of the imported horse
- requiring that horses transiting Central America or the West Indies comply with the same regulations that apply to horses directly imported from these regions
- adding requirements for shipping containers, including disinfection requirements and measures to ensure horses are transported safely
- removing Los Angeles and Miami from the list of ports designated to receive horse imports
- clarifying that APHIS will refuse entry to horses arriving in the same shipment as horses dead upon arrival
- adding requirements that stallions and mares must be transported to the approved state in a sealed vehicle, and that seal may be broken only by an APHIS representative, state animal health official, or accredited veterinarian under certain circumstances at the horse’s destination
- miscellaneous other small clarifications and corrections
You can read the entire final rule, Import Regulations for Horses, here. It will be effective on Oct. 16, 2023.
To stay informed on trade news and other important updates, stay connected with a customs broker.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing to significantly increase the fees for its AQI program, which assures that cargo and passenger baggage entering the country is inspected for plant pests and potential sources of animal diseases that could affect U.S. agriculture, trade and commerce.
Fees for the AQI program were last updated in 2015 based on data from 2010 through 2012, making the fee structure almost a decade out of date. According to APHIS, the outdated fee structure, combined with recent changes in international travel and shipping, means that current fees do not generate enough revenue to cover the costs of the AQI services provided.
To develop the proposed rule, APHIS conducted a comprehensive review of the AQI program to determine the actual costs incurred by APHIS and CBP (who administer the program jointly) to deliver AQI services.
The updated cost model accounts for inflation, capital improvements, and additional staffing needs. For example, for 2017 through 2019, the AQI program ran an average annual deficit of over $166 million. From 2010 to 2021, agricultural cargo imports grew over 61% by volume, and AQI staffing dedicated to conveyance and cargo clearance was not able keep pace with this growth. Workload per frontline employee increased 25% by volume from 2010 to 2021.
At the same time, changes in the size of conveyances (ships, trains, trucks) and the amounts they transport have resulted in more work being done with less funding because APHIS fees are tied to the number of conveyance arrivals, not the volume of cargo contained within them.
Proposed fee changes
| Fee Service Activity |
Current |
Proposed |
|
| January 1, 2024 |
October 1, 2024 |
October 1, 2025 |
October 1, 2026 |
October 1, 2027 |
| Commercial Vessel (per vessel arrival) |
$825 |
$3,219.29 |
$3,302.23 |
$3,386.23 |
$3,471.18 |
$3,557.18 |
| Commercial Truck (per truck arrival)2 |
$7.29 |
$11.40 |
$12.40 |
$13.45 |
$14.50 |
$15.55 |
| Commercial Rail (per railroad car arrival) |
$2.00 |
$5.81 |
$6.51 |
$7.23 |
$7.97 |
$8.72 |
| Commercial Aircraft (per aircraft arrival) |
$225.00 |
$288.41 |
$309.00 |
$330.07 |
$351.64 |
$373.68 |
| Air Passenger (per passenger arrival) |
$3.83 |
$4.29 |
$4.44 |
$4.60 |
$4.76 |
$4.93 |
| Cruise Vessel Passenger (per passenger arrival) |
$1.68 |
$1.20 |
$1.25 |
$1.29 |
$1.34 |
$1.39 |
| Treatments (per hour) |
$237 (per treatment) |
$232.97 |
$253.19 |
$273.90 |
$295.12 |
$316.83 |
You can leave your feedback on the proposal by Oct. 10, 2023 by visiting www.regulations.gov.
To stay informed on trade news and other important updates, stay connected with a customs broker.
Until further notice, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is restricting the importation of animal commodities originating from or transiting Costa Rica based on the diagnosis of New World screwworm in a dog.
The restrictions vary based on the animal:
APHIS prohibits the importation of ruminants (e.g. cattle, sheep, and goats) and swine from Costa Rica.
APHIS will permit the importation of pet dogs, hedgehogs, tenrecs, elephants, rhinos and tapirs from Costa Rica as long as they are accompanied by a certificate signed by a full-time salaried veterinary official of the region of origin stating that the animal has been inspected for screwworm within 5 days prior to shipment to the United States, and the animal is either free from screwworm or was found to be infested with screwworm, held in quarantine, and treated until free from screwworm prior to leaving the region.
Horses imported directly from Costa Rica must complete and adhere to the established import screwworm protocol, which includes a minimum 7-day quarantine period upon arrival. If horses reside in a screwworm-free country for a minimum of 7 days immediately prior to being exported to the United States, APHIS will permit the horse to complete a 3-day quarantine upon arrival.
Health certificates from all regions visited within the 60 days immediately prior to export must accompany the shipment. In addition, screwworm certification endorsed by a licensed veterinarian from the exporting country must be provided certifying the horse was examined and found free of screwworm after being in country a minimum of 7 days.
What is New World screwworm?
According to APHIS, New World screwworm disease is an infestation with the larvae of the New World screwworm fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax) that lives off the flesh of living mammals and, less commonly, birds. It’s estimated that the presence of New World screwworm costs the U.S. livestock industry an average of $20 million annually.
To stay informed on important news and other important updates, stay connected with a customs broker.
The Department of Agricultura’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has classified eight regions in Mexico for bovine tuberculosis using its classification system, which ranges from Level I to Level V. Level I regions have the lowest prevalence of the disease, and animals from this region can be imported into the US without testing. Prevalence of the disease increases with every successive level.
The classifications are as follows:
Level II
Level III
- Yucatán Peninsula (States of Yucatán and Quintana Roo, and part of the State of Campeche)
- Huasteca (including parts of the States of Puebla, Veracruz, and Hidalgo, but excluding San Luis Potosí)
- Chihuahua
- Durango region
Level IV
- Coahuila region
- Nuevo León region
- Tamaulipas region
Regions of Mexico not listed above are either unassessed by APHIS or don’t have a program that meets APHIS requirements for bovine tuberculosis. Therefore, they are considered to be Level V and may not export bovine animals to the US except to direct slaughter.
Bovine animals are defined as cattle or bison.
APHIS establishes TB testing requirements for Mexican bovine animals in accordance with existing regulations, based on evaluations of the status and control of bovine tuberculosis in the Mexican states.
To stay informed on import news and other important updates, stay connected with a customs broker.
The Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Customs Border Protection (CBP) are taking action on the importation of bananas, plantains, pears, and avocados in accordance with pest mitigation regulations.
If you’re an importer of any of these fruit products, read on to learn if the recent actions will affect you.
Bananas and plantains
A risk-based sampling of banana and plantain shipments at U.S. ports of entry has started as of Sept. 26, 2022. The goal of the sampling is to reduce inspections on entities importing commodities compliant with current pest and disease regulations.
There are no changes to the required entry paperwork; however, PPQ and CBP recommend that trade entities file entry paperwork prior to arrival if possible and include APHIS Core Message Set data to ensure their shipments are processed according to risk-based sampling procedures.
Pears
APHIS has revised its requirements for importing fresh sand pear from the Republic of Korea. APHIS previously published the pest risk analysis that describes potential pests associated with the commodity for public review and comment.
APHIS has determined that the application of designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of plant pests or noxious weeds for the importation of fresh, non-precleared sand pear fruit from the Republic of Korea into all ports of the United States as an alternative to the preclearance program. This change is effective as of September 27, 2022.
Avocados
APHIS is asking for public comment as it considers a request to authorize the importation of fresh Hass avocados from Guatemala for consumption. APHIS has drafted a pest risk assessment which lists the potential pests that are likely to remain on the product after importation if no mitigation is applied. The draft will be available to review and comment on until Oct. 19, 2022, after which APHIS will proceed with the commodity import approval process.
To review the assessment or submit comments, view the Avocados from Guatemala Risk Assessment Document.
To stay informed on import regulations and other important updates, stay connected with a customs broker.
