APHIS Set to Launch Phase VII of Lacey Act Enforcement

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will begin requiring Lacey Act import declarations for a new set of plant materials and products beginning as early as spring 2024, it said in an emailed bulletin March 27. The agency is reviewing the tariff schedule to “determine the complete list of materials and products that will be included in Phase VII” of Lacey Act enforcement, and will publish a “complete list” in the fall of “materials and products” that will be newly subject to the import declaration requirement, it said. APHIS “will require declarations for those product codes 6 months” after it publishes the list, it said.

“In Phase VII, Lacey Act declarations will be required for all remaining plant product Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes that are not 100-percent composite materials,” APHIS said. “Importers of such items who do not currently file a Lacey Act declaration will likely need to file one once APHIS implements Phase VII. APHIS encourages importers to prepare in advance by becoming familiar with their supply chain and reviewing what information is necessary to file a declaration,” it said.

An APHIS official has said Phase VII will include wooden, wicker and rattan furniture of chapter 94 of the tariff schedule, more essential oils of chapter 33, and cork and cork products of chapter 45 (see 2209200064). An eighth and potentially final phase will eventually implement Lacey Act requirements for composites.