This post has been updated to report Phase VII of the Lacey Act Declaration was implemented May 30, 2024, the Federal Notice was published May 31, and the deadline for compliance is set for December 1, 2024.
The International Housewares Association presented a recent webinar on the Lacey Act, which makes it unlawful to “import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plant, with some limited exceptions, taken or traded in violation of the laws of the United States, a U.S. State, or a foreign country.”
In the webinar, Ashley Amidon, executive director of the International Wood Products Association, explained how the Lacey Act applies to the housewares supply chain and how new federal Declaration paperwork requirements coming into effect this fall will be required for every imported product using wood. These products include kitchen tools, tableware and serveware, cutting boards, spice mills, baskets, cloth, some bamboo products, cork and essential oils. Craig Brightup of the IHA government affairs office in Washington, D.C. moderated the webinar.
The Lacey Act covers all parties in the supply chain, whether the importer of record or an entity using imported wood inputs in a finished product. Amidon explained during the webinar how companies covered by the Lacey Act can prepare a compliance program for the Declaration later this year.
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has been implementing 2008 amendments to the Lacey Act covering wood/plant-based imports through a series of rulemakings. Phases I, II, and III went into effect in 2009, Phase IV in 2010, Phase V in 2015 and Phase VI in 2021. Phase VII implementation is coming soon.
Per APHIS’s Phase VII, “APHIS will publish a list of affected Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes in the Federal Register and will require declarations for those product codes six months later.” This means that companies impacted by Lacey Act Phase VII Declaration requirements will have a six-month timeline from the publication date to be in compliance.
APHIS officially announced Phase VII of the Lacey Act Declaration on May 30, and the Federal Notice detailing products covered by the Phase VII Declaration was published May 31. That would set the Phase VII compliance deadline at December 1, 2024. It will cover every plant or plant product except for 100% composite materials.
Housewares companies can access IWPA’s online on-demand courses on the Lacey Act at https://www.iwpawood.org/page/Education.
