LACEY ACT REQUIREMENTS TO COVER ALL PLANT PRODUCTS
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Lacey Act Requirements To Cover All Plant Products
We have learned that U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) plans to expand the list of products subject to the Lacey Act declaration requirements for plant products.
The following is from APHIS:
APHIS is planning for the latest declaration requirement stage: Phase VII. In this phase, Lacey Act declarations will be required for all remaining plant product Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes that are not 100 percent composite materials. That means a wide array of imported products—such as furniture, additional essential oils, and cork—that have never before needed Lacey Act declarations will now need them. In 2023, APHIS will publish a list of affected HTS codes in the Federal Register and will require declarations for those product codes 6 months later.
What does this mean for importers? If you import items that contain plant products, and you do not currently file a Lacey Act declaration, you will likely need to file one once Phase VII is implemented.
We contacted APHIS and were told that they intend to publish the involved HTS codes in the Fall of 2023. Importers of plant products not yet subject to the Lacey Act should familiarize themselves with the regulatory requirements and work with your customs brokers to ensure that your imports are not rejected or detained once the new requirements go into effect. If you want to stay on top of this issue, you can sign up for the APHIS stakeholder registry at the following link:
If you have any questions, please contact Taylor Pillsbury (taylor.pillsbury@mscustoms.com) or Michael Jackson (michael.jackson@mscustoms.com) at (949) 719-2712.