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Lacey Act

Lacey Act. United States Department of Agriculture. Objectives. Give a brief background on the Lacey Act Summarize the amendments to the Lacey Act Describe the Lacey Act declaration requirement and implementation schedule Introduce the APHIS Lacey Act Website. History of the Lacey Act.

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Lacey Act

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  1. Lacey Act United States Department of Agriculture

  2. Objectives • Give a brief background on the Lacey Act • Summarize the amendments to the Lacey Act • Describe the Lacey Act declaration requirement and implementation schedule • Introduce the APHIS Lacey Act Website

  3. History of the Lacey Act • The US oldest wildlife protection statute. • It was first enacted in 1900 to combat impact of: • hunting to supply commercial markets, • interstate shipment of unlawfully killed game, • introduction of harmful exotic species and • killing of birds for feather trade

  4. History of the Lacey Act • Significantly amended in 1981 and 1988 • Amended again in 2008 • A tool to combat trafficking in “illegal” wildlife, fish or plants

  5. History of the Lacey Act The 2008 Farm Bill (the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008) • Section 8204. Prevention of Illegal Logging Practices expands Lacey protection to broader range of plants • Extends the statute’s reach to encompass products, including timber, that derive from illegally harvested plants • New declaration requirement relating to plant products • Passed May 22, 2008

  6. Purpose of the Lacey Act Amendment • Prevent trade in illegally harvested plants • Prevent trade in products made from illegally harvested plants

  7. Why fight illegal logging? • Illegal logging robs countries, impoverishes forest communities, depresses global timber prices, and • Puts money in the pockets of criminals. • It undermines the rule of law and sustainable forest • management, destroying forests, watersheds, and habitat. • It unfairly competes with legal production and trade.

  8. Examples of Illegal Logging: • Theft of timber, including from parks and protected areas • Harvesting without permission • Failure to comply with harvesting regulations • Failure to pay royalties, taxes or fees • The Lacey Act provides legal authority to take action when products associated with illegal logging enter the United States.

  9. The Lacey Act as amended. . . • Is an important new tool that helps the United States to support the efforts of other countries, and its own States, to combat illegal logging. • The Lacey Act now makes it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plant, with some limited exceptions, taken or traded in violation of the laws of a U.S. State, or most foreign laws.

  10. The Lacey Act as amended. . . • The Lacey Act also makes it unlawful to make or submit any false record, account or label for, or any false identification of, any plant. • As of December 15, 2008 it is unlawful to import any covered plant or plant product without a declaration. • Enforcement of the declaration is being phased in

  11. What is considered a “plant” under the Lacey Act? ‘‘Plant’’ means: ‘‘Any wild member of the plant kingdom, including roots, seeds, parts or product thereof, and including trees from either natural or planted forest stands.”

  12. Exclusions and Exceptions Exclusions to the definition of plants: • Common cultivars (except trees) and common food crops • Scientific specimens of plant genetic material that is to be used only for laboratory or field research • Any plant that is to remain planted or to be planted or replanted Exceptions to the exclusions: • Plants listed under the Endangered Species Act or a similar State law, or is listed in an appendix to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

  13. Declaration Requirement Relating to Plant Products • Declaration must be made at time of importation • Declaration must contain: • Scientific name of plant (including genus & species) • Value of importation • Quantity of the shipment • Name of the country in which the plant was harvested • For paper and paperboard products with recycled content, state the average % recycled content without regard for species or country of harvest • Declaration requirement does not apply to packaging material

  14. Phase-In Schedule Phase-In Schedule of Enforcement of the Declaration Requirement for Goods of, or containing, Plants or Plant Products: [Updated information to be provided by USDA APHIS]

  15. Which products need to be declared? • [to be updated by USDA APHIS] Please consult http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/downloads/FederalRegister02-03-2009.pdf for the specific phase-in schedule. Any changes to the current phase-in schedule will be announced in the Federal Register.

  16. What about packaging? • For the purposes of the Lacey Act declaration requirement, packaging material is defined as any material used to support, protect, or carry another item. • This includes, but is not limited to, items such as: wood crating, wood pallets, cardboard boxes, packing paper used as cushioning, etc. • Packaging material is exempt from the Lacey Act’s declaration requirement unless the packaging material itself is the item being imported.

  17. Prohibition and Declaration • The prohibitions of the amended Lacey Act have been in place since May 2008 • Phased enforcement of the declaration does not affect the applicability of the prohibition • Even if a shipment is not scheduled for enforcement of the declaration requirement, the Lacey Act is still in force

  18. APHIS Lacey Act Website • http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/index.shtml

  19. What you will find there . . . • Link to PPQ Form 505: Plant and Plant Product Declaration Form • Links to Lacey Act Federal Register Notices • Links to other Lacey Act related Documents • Link to look up for plant genus and species • Link to Lacey Act Declaration email address • Link to PPQ Stakeholder Registry

  20. US Federal Agencies Involved • USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has the lead • Other agencies involved include: Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Forest Service (USDA), U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Department of Justice, Department of State, U.S. Fish and Wildlife (Department of the Interior) and U.S. Department of Commerce.

  21. Summary • The Lacey Act is a tool to support other countries and U.S. states in combating illegal logging • Enforcement of the Lacy Act is fact-based, not document-based • In any prosecution, the burden of proof of a violation rests on the U.S. government • The import declaration requires basic information about the shipment (species of plant, country of harvest) • The declaration does not require information on legality and does not require “chain of custody” or certification

  22. Information on the Internet • http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/ To look up genus/species, go to: • http://plants.usda.gov/classification.html

  23. Please refer Lacey Act inquiries to: lacey.act.declaration@aphis.usda.gov

  24. THANK YOU IIII

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