Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service officials recently stated publicly that there will be no new enforcement phases for the Lacey Act declaration requirement for imported plants and plant products for "awhile," as APHIS is busy dealing with the workload from the already implemented phases1.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's updated April 2010 guidance on filing Lacey Act Declarations for articles containing composite, recycled, or reused materials (CRR) also contains instructions for three other special cases.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service posted updated guidance in April 2010 on filing Lacey Act Declarations for articles containing composite, recycled, or reused (CRR) materials.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will hold public meetings June 24 and July 1, 2010 in Salt Lake City, UT, and Fort Worth, TX, to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to offer their input on the new framework being developed for animal disease traceability.
On June 10, 2010, APHIS updated its Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Import PPQ Manual. The manual lists by country fruits and vegetables that are admissible into the United States. It includes a description of methods for sampling and inspecting selected fruits and vegetables. It also contains pictorial identification guides, and a glossary for common and scientific names of fruits and vegetables.
On June 9, 2010, APHIS updated the Manual for Agricultural Clearance. The manual provides CBP personnel working at airport and maritime locations with the guidelines, directions, and policy for clearing carriers and passengers/crew and controlling garbage and cargo.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued new guidance announcing that Spruce Pine Fir (abbreviated SPF) is an approved shorthand term for the Lacey Act declaration, in circumstances where the list of possible species to declare includes all species in the Common Trade Grouping “SPF”.
The World Resources Institute (WRI), Enironmental Investigation Agency (EIA-US) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have created a global initiative, the Forest Legality Alliance, to help private corporations reduce their trade in illegal wood. The alliance's formation comes after the U.S. amended the Lacey Act in 2008 to ban the trade of illegal wood products in the US.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared a pest risk analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation of sweet limes from Mexico into the continental U.S., in which APHIS has concluded that the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the pest risk. Comments are due by August 9, 2010.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announces that, effective June 10, 2010, it is recognizing the Arica Province in Chile as a pest-free area for Ceratitis capitata, Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly). Accordingly, APHIS is recognizing the Republic of Chile as a pest-free area for Medfly and has added it to the list of pest-free areas.