APHIS Announces New Lacey Act Provisions

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently announced the implementation of Phase VII of the Lacey Act provisions, which will begin on December 1, 2024. A critical conservation law, the Lacey Act was passed by Congress to help combat the illegal trafficking of wildlife, fish, and plants.

Phase VII specifically targets imported plant and wood products. Following implementation of the newest phase, Lacey Act declarations will be required for all remaining plant product Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes that are not 100 percent composite materials. This includes a variety of new good that haven’t previously required a declaration, including, but not limited to, furniture, certain essential oils, and cork.

Phase VII will include the broadest range of items under the Lacey Act to date, so all importers of items that contain plants likely will need to file a declaration moving forward. Please click here to find the full list of items that will be affected.

APHIS will accept public comment on products covered under the Lacey Act, as well as on whether any additional Harmonized Tariff Schedule chapters that should be included in the current phase-in schedule, until July 30, 2024. To submit your comments, you must go to http://www.regulations.gov. Then, enter APHIS-2008-0119 in the Search field and select the Documents tab, then select the Comment button in the list of documents.

If you have any further questions or need assistance with these provisions, please contact your Scarbrough Global representative.