The Lacey Act Amendment It's Time to Declare by Jena Leary

Illegal harvesting competes with those companies complying with the rules and regulations of legitimate trade. The Lacey Act has been around for decades battling illegal trafficking of fish, wildlife and plants. In 2008 the Lacey Act waw effectively amended to extend the protection to a broader range of plants, encompassing products that are derived from illegally harvested plants and require an import declaration on any plant or plant product imported into the U.S.

A phased in approach is in place based on the plant's degree of processing and complexity of its composition. As of April 1st 2009, Phase 2 plants & plant products will require a declaration.

Are you prepared?

Have you…

◦ Identified any/all products that contain plant or plant products, ◦ Prioritized products based on plant, ◦ Determined the original purchaser of the plant or plant material, ◦ Determined the plant name, source and value to be included on Lacey declaration, ◦ Worked with suppliers to include Lacey information on commercial invoices?

Lacey Act Declaration (LAD)

The declaration must be made at time of importation, and include information on: ◦ Scientific name of any plant, ◦ A description of the value of importation, ◦ Quantity of the plant, ◦ Name of the country in which the plant was harvested.

If a plant species or country of origin cannot be determined, the plant declaration must include a list of possible plant species found in the product or a list of possible countries from which the plant originated.