The Animal and Plant Health Inspections Service (APHIS) has announced it is seeking an extension to collect information for a mandatory review of the Lacey Act import declaration requirement, and it is seeking feedback on the review.
Lacey Act stakeholders can submit a comment to APHIS, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), at this link until Aug. 6.
The Lacey Act was amended in May 2008 to ban the import of illegally logged wood. The amendment also required products be accompanied by an import declaration that lists, among other qualities, the scientific name and quantity of any tree contained in the product, and the value of the product. In 2010, USDA was supposed to have conducted a review of the import declaration and issued a report to Congress. To date, neither of those requirements have been met.
