Importation of Wooden 

Handicrafts 

into the United States 

Environmental 

Februa

United States

Department of 

Agriculture

Marketing and 

Regulatory

Programs

Animal and 

Plant Health 

Inspection 

Service

Importation of Wooden 

Handicrafts from China 

into the United States 

Environmental Assessment,

February 2011

Importation of Wooden 

China 

into the United States 

Assessment,
Importation of Wooden 

Handicrafts from China into the 

United States

Environmental Assessment,

February 2011

Agency Contact:

John T. Jones

Forestry Products Trade Director

Plant Protection and Quarantine

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

4700 River Rd. Unit 140

Riverdale, MD 20737

__________________________________________________________

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__________________________________________________________

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__________________________________________________________

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Table of Contents

I. Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action...................... 1

II. Alternatives .......................................................................... 2

A. No Action....................................................................... 2

B. Proposed Action ........................................................... 2

III. Environmental Consequences ........................................... 3

A. No Action....................................................................... 3

B. Proposed Action ........................................................... 4

C. Cumulative Impacts...................................................... 6

D. Endangered Species Act.............................................. 7

IV. Other Issues......................................................................... 8

V. Agencies and Organizations Consulted............................ 9

VI. References ......................................................................... 10
1

I. Purpose and Need for the Proposed 

Action

Encouraging trade with foreign countries, such as China, is a priority for 

the United States. However, allowing such trade can also increase the 

potential for introduction and subsequent establishment of pests of 

concern if infested articles enter the United States. 

Chinese wooden handicrafts are an example of a group of products the 

United States would like to be able to import. Chinese wooden 

handicrafts are generally comprised of products such as wooden carvings, 

baskets, boxes, bird houses, rustic garden and/or lawn/patio furniture, 

potpourri, artificial trees (usually artificial Ficus spp.), trellis towers, 

garden fencing and edging, and other wood items. Many of these items 

have been imported into the United States in the past; however, repeated 

interceptions of quarantine pests caused concern about the potential 

introduction of wood-boring pests into the United States. In the time 

period from 2002 through 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued 

more than 300 emergency action notices, and also conducted nationwide 

recalls to remove Chinese wooden handicraft products from the 

marketplace in the United States that were discovered to be infested with 

pests of concern. In 2005, APHIS suspended the importation of Chinese 

wooden handicrafts made from wooden logs, limbs, branches or twigs 

greater than 1 centimeter in diameter and with intact bark in order to take 

the time to further assess the pest risks associated with Chinese 

handicrafts, and to determine the best course of action to reduce the pest 

risk.

USDA–APHIS is now proposing to amend regulations in “Logs, Lumber, 

and Other Unmanufactured Wood Articles” (7 Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) 319.40) to allow for resumption of the importation of 

wooden handicrafts from China made from wooden logs, limbs, branches 

or twigs under certain mitigations. In addition, the change in regulations 

will also more clearly define and clarify the specific types of articles that 

are considered to be Chinese wooden handicrafts and that are therefore 

subject to the new import regulations. Before amending and 

implementing the new regulations, APHIS must analyze the potential

impacts in the United States of the proposed changes to the regulations.

This environmental assessment (EA) has been prepared, consistent with 

USDA–APHIS' National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) 

implementing procedures (Title 7 CFR part 372). It examines the

potential effects on the quality of the human environment that may be 
2

associated with revising import regulations that would allow greater

importation of wooden handicrafts from China. 

II. Alternatives

This EA considers the potential effects of the proposed action and its 

alternatives. Two alternatives are being considered in this EA: (1) no 

change to the existing regulations (the no action alternative), and 

(2) amending existing regulations to more clearly define which products 

are considered to be Chinese wooden handicrafts, and amending existing 

regulations to allow for resumption of importation of Chinese wooden 

handicrafts if certain pest mitigation measures are met (the proposed 

action).

A. No Action 

The no action alternative would result in no changes to the current 

regulations, and would not change the current suspension of importation 

that is in place. Importation of Chinese wooden handicrafts made from 

wooden logs, limbs, branches or twigs greater than one centimeter in 

diameter and with intact bark would continue to be prohibited from entry

into the United States. This alternative would address the concern about 

introduction of pests of concern into the United States from Chinese 

wooden handicraft products. However, choosing the no action alternative

would unnecessarily hinder free trade because effective mitigation 

measures have been identified to address the risk of introduction of pests

of concern as a result of importation of these products.

B. Proposed Action

Under the proposed action, the regulations would be amended to clarify the 

definition of products that are classified as Chinese wooden handicrafts, to 

demonstrate that wooden handicrafts fall under the definition of regulated 

articles within the subpart, and to incorporate the appropriate phytosanitary

measures that are required in order to import Chinese wooden handicrafts 

into the United States while mitigating the risk of introduction of pests of 

concern. 

The amended regulations would define the term “wooden handicrafts” as a 

commercial class of articles derived or made from natural components of 

wood, twigs, and vines, including bamboo poles and garden stakes. 

Handicrafts would include the following products where wood is present: 

Carvings, baskets, boxes, bird houses, garden and lawn/patio furniture

(rustic), potpourri, artificial trees (typically artificial Ficus spp.), trellis 

towers, garden fencing and edging, and other items composed of wood. 

The amended regulations would also clarify that products, such as wooden 
3

handicrafts, that “contain (wooden) parts that are either unprocessed or 

have received only primary processing and are not feasibly separable from 

other parts of the product” are regulated under the subpart. Under the 

proposed action, articles with regulated components that are more than 

6 inches in diameter will be required to be treated with one of the 

following treatments:

 Heat treatment, as specified in the PPQ Treatment Manual in 

accordance with 7 CFR part 305, or

 Heat treatment with moisture reduction, as specified in the PPQ 

Treatment Manual in accordance with 7 CFR part 305.

For articles with regulated components that are less than 6 inches in 

diameter, one of the following treatments will be required:

 Heat treatment, as specified in the PPQ Treatment Manual in 

accordance with 7 CFR part 305, or

 Heat treatment with moisture reduction, as specified in the PPQ 

Treatment Manual in accordance with 7 CFR part 305, or

 Fumigation with methyl bromide (T404–d), in accordance with 

7 CFR § 305.5.

Each shipment must be accompanied by a treatment certificate issued by

the treatment facility. Individual boxes of wooden handicrafts will also be 

labeled with a merchandise tag containing the identity of the product 

manufacturer. The identification tag must be applied to each package in 

China prior to exportation and remain attached to the package until it 

reaches the location at which the handicraft will be sold in the United 

States. This facilitates tracking of shipments should a recall be necessary. 

In addition, each shipment is required to be inspected at the port of entry. 

Any shipment that is inspected and found to have pests may be cleaned or 

the entire lot may be refused entry into the United States in accordance 

with 7 CFR § 319.40.

III. Environmental Consequences

A. No Action

Current regulations do not allow the importation of Chinese wooden 

handicrafts that are made from wooden logs, limbs, branches or twigs

greater than one centimeter and with intact bark into the United States. 

Under the no action alternative, importation of these wooden handicrafts 

from China into the United States would continue to be prohibited. 

Although there would be no potential environmental consequences of 
4

prohibiting the importation of Chinese wooden handicrafts, this alternative 

would result in prohibiting trade that has been determined to be safe 

through the use of the certain mitigations.

B. Proposed Action

A pest risk assessment (PRA) titled Pests and mitigations for 

manufactured wood décor and craft products from China for importation 

into the United States (USDA, 2007a) was prepared by APHIS to 

determine the arthropod pests that may follow the pathway of Chinese 

wooden handicrafts and to propose possible mitigations that would be 

necessary to prevent pest introduction and/or establishment.

One of the greatest quarantine concerns associated with Chinese 

handicrafts is wood boring beetles in the families Buprestidae, 

Cerambycidae, and Scolytidae (USDA, 2011). Introduction of two wood 

boring beetles, the emerald ash borer (EAB) and the Asian longhorned 

beetle (ALB), into the United States has prompted very large and costly 

programs to eradicate them (USDA, 2011). Wood boring insects have the 

ability to cause a great deal of harm to ecosystems in the United States if 

they should become established.

Because immature stages of wood boring beetles can develop completely

inside wood, these beetles are highly likely to enter the United States,

undetected, within wood (USDA, 2011). Economic costs associated with 

the wood boring beetles (EAB and ALB) have been in the millions of 

dollars (USDA, 2011); 144 of the 510 arthropod species listed in the PRA 

are wood boring beetles (USDA, 2007a). To mitigate the wood boring 

beetles and the other insect pests of concern, APHIS has chosen methyl 

bromide fumigation and/or heat treatments with other safeguards as 

mitigations to the importation of manufactured wood décor and craft 

products from China into the United States, as described above in the 

preferred alternative. 

Prior to 2005, artificial trees required kiln heat treatment in China. If pests 

were detected through inspection of the articles at the port of entry in the 

United States, the trees were treated with methyl bromide fumigation 

(USDA, 2011). In the final rule, the mitigation measures require kiln heat 

treatment or methyl bromide fumigation in China (for regulated articles 

less than 6 inches in diameter), as well as, a treatment certificate issued by

the treatment facility and port of entry inspection (USDA, 2011). 

Also, prior to 2005, other Chinese wood handicrafts (in addition to the 

artificial trees) required only port of entry inspection (USDA, 2011). In 

the final rule, the proposed mitigation measures require heat treatment or 

methyl bromide fumigation (for articles less than 6 inches), a treatment 
5

certificate and port of entry inspection (USDA, 2011). 

APHIS prepared a risk management document entitled Pests and 

mitigations for manufactured wood décor and craft products from China 

for importation into the United States (USDA, 2011) which concluded that 

the required mitigation measures (methyl bromide, for articles less than 6 

inches, and/or heat treatment, phytosanitary certificate, and inspection at 

port of entry) will mitigate the risk of pests of concern associated with the 

importation of manufactured wood décor and craft products from China 

into the United States (USDA, 2011). In addition, the risk management

document specified that “[b]ased on the pests’ biological characteristics, 

methods of dispersal, ability to be detected, and evaluation of 

effectiveness of the phytosanitary measures directed against them, APHIS 

finds that the safeguards of 7 CFR § 319.40 and the additional mitigations 

described above will result in the effective removal of the pests of 

concern.”

Risk mitigation measures, such as fumigation, heat treatment, and 

inspection, are designed to prevent any potential quarantine pests from 

entering the United States. Environmental concerns associated with these 

mitigations are discussed below in greater detail.

Methyl bromide fumigation may occur prior to exporting wooden 

handicrafts leaving China. The final rule requires that wooden handicrafts 

which are subject to fumigation are products that contain regulated articles

with components smaller than 6 inches in diameter, as outlined in 

treatment schedule T404–d in the PPQ Treatment Manual.

Methyl bromide fumigation is generally conducted in contained facilities, 

thus limiting the potential exposure of other nontarget animals, including 

humans and the environment. Methyl bromide may also be conducted 

with tarps overlaying the commodities. However, even when tarps are 

used, there is limited exposure to other nontarget animals, humans, and the 

environment. Occupational workers are at the most risk of methyl 

bromide exposure; however, adherence to pesticide label application 

directions, use guidelines and restrictions should ensure that there are no 

adverse effects on persons exposed occupationally. Additionally, based 

on the effectiveness of methyl bromide to eliminate the presence of insect 

pests, the importation of wooden handicrafts from China into the United 

States is not expected to have an effect on nontarget animals or the 

environment.

The primary concern with the use of methyl bromide fumigation is ozone 

depletion. Methyl bromide is a substance classified by the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Air Act as a

Class I ozone-depleting chemical. This ozone depletion is the primary

1. Methyl 

Bromide 
6

issue of environmental concern related to fumigations with methyl 

bromide. The expected use of methyl bromide in fumigations of Chinese 

wooden handicrafts is well below any levels that could contribute 

substantially to ozone depletion. The amount of methyl bromide required 

to treat Chinese wooden handicrafts will be less than 27.36 pounds per 

container. China expects to export no more than 1000 containers of 

wooden handicrafts a year. This would result in a maximum of less than 

28,000 pounds of methyl bromide for the importation of wooden 

handicrafts from China into the United States. The total global 

consumption of methyl bromide in 2007 was approximately 23,568,517

pounds1(UNEP, 2008). 

A thorough review of the potential effects of methyl bromide uses in 

fumigations on ozone depletion was originally presented in the final 

environmental impact statement (EIS) for “Importation of Solid Wood 

Packing Material—August, 2003;” this document has recently been 

updated and is titled, “Importation of Solid Wood Packing Material, 

Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement—2007”

(USDA, 2007b). This EIS determined that the cumulative impact of 

methyl bromide on ozone depletion from routine commodity treatments is 

not expected to be consequential. 

Prior to Chinese handicrafts leaving China for importation to the United 

States, heat treatment or heat treatment with moisture reduction, must be 

performed for articles greater than 6 inches. Heat treatments are generally 

conducted in contained facilities thus limiting the potential exposure to the 

treatment to other nontarget animals, including humans, and the 

environment. Additionally, based on the effectiveness of heat treatment to 

eliminate the presence of live pests, the importation of wooden handicrafts 

from China into the United States is expected to have no effects to humans 

and the environment. 

C. Cumulative Impacts

Cumulative impacts are defined as “the impact on the environment which 

results from the incremental impact of the action when added to other past, 

present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions regardless of what 

agencies or person undertakes such other actions” (40 CFR 1508.7).

The potential impacts from this final rule are not expected to pose 

significant cumulative impacts. The mitigations of the preferred 

alternative are expected to provide an effective level of phytosanitary

protection (USDA, 2011). These mitigations are designed to prevent 

 

1 The worldwide consumption of methyl bromide in 2007 was 6,414.3 ODP. Methyl 

bromide has an ODP value of 0.6. 6,414.3 ODP tons /.6 tons = 10,690.5 metric tons 

10,690.5 tons * 2204.6 pounds/ton = 23,568,276 pounds

2. Heat 

Treatment
7

adverse cumulative impacts on the environment by decreasing the risk of 

introduction and establishment of pests of concern as a result of the 

importation of wooden handicraft products from China. Should other 

countries petition to export wooden handicraft products into the 

United States, those requests will be considered under separate 

rulemakings.

The mitigations will not lead to significant cumulative impacts. Although 

the use of methyl bromide will increase the overall use of methyl bromide, 

the limited quantities of methyl bromide needed to treat the wooden 

handicrafts are within the negligible treatments anticipated under previous 

cumulative analysis of methyl bromide use (USDA, 2007b; pers. comm. 

with EPA, 2007).

D. Endangered Species Act

Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and its implementing regulations 

require Federal agencies to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

and/or the National Marine Fisheries Service to ensure that their actions 

are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of threatened or 

endangered species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of 

critical habitat. 

APHIS has considered the potential effects of the rule to allow importation 

of wooden handicraft products from China into the United States. Heat

treatments and methyl bromide fumigations are generally conducted in 

contained facilities; listed species and their habitats would not be exposed 

to these treatments. In addition, based on the mitigation measures in place

(methyl bromide fumigation, heat treatments, and other safeguards) to 

eliminate the presence of pests of concern, the program has determined 

that importation of wooden handicraft products from China would have no 

effect on any threatened or endangered species or their critical habitats. 

 
8

IV. Other Issues

Consistent with Executive Order (EO) 12898, “Federal Actions to Address 

Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-income 

Populations,” APHIS considered the potential for disproportionately high 

and adverse human health or environmental effects on any minority 

populations and low-income populations. No disproportionate adverse 

effects are anticipated to any minority or low-income population, or 

particular subgroup of the U.S. population as a result of implementing the 

proposed action considered in this document. 

Consistent with EO 13045, “Protection of Children From Environmental 

Health Risks and Safety Risks,” APHIS considered the potential for 

disproportionately high and adverse environmental health and safety risks 

to children. No disproportionate adverse effects to children are anticipated 

as a result of implementing the proposed action considered in this 

document. 

Executive Order (EO) 13175, “Consultation and Coordination with Indian 

Tribal Governments,” was issued to ensure that there would be 

“meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribal officials in the 

development of Federal policies that have tribal implications....” No 

aspect of implementation of the proposed action considered in this 

document would result in tribal impacts that would require the need for 

consultation or collaboration with tribal officials.
9

V. Agencies and Organizations Consulted

This EA was prepared and reviewed by APHIS. The addresses of 

participating APHIS units, cooperators, and consultants (as applicable) 

follow.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Laboratory

Center for Plant Health Science and Technology

Plant Protection and Quarantine

1730 Varsity Drive, Suite 300

Raleigh, NC 27606

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Protection and Quarantine 

4700 River Road, Unit 140

Riverdale, MD 20737

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Policy and Program Development 

Environmental Services

4700 River Road, Unit 149

Riverdale, MD 20737
10

VI. References

EPA—See U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

USDA—See U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service.

UNEP—See United Nations Environment Programme

United Nations Environment Programme, 2008. Consumption in ODP 

Tonnes Annex E, Group I (Methyl Bromide) All Parties. Data Access 

Centre. Available at http://ozone.unep.org/Data_Reporting/Data_Access/ 

Last accessed on September 30, 2008. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service, 2003. Importation of solid wood packing material, final 

environmental impact statement—August 2003. Riverdale, MD.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service, 2007a. Pests and mitigations for manufactured wood décor and 

craft products from China for importation into the United States. Pest risk 

assessment. Center for Plant Health Science and Technology. July, 2007. 

Raleigh, NC.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service, 2011. Pests and craft mitigations for manufactured wood décor 

and craft products from China for importation into the United States: risk 

management document. Plant Protection and Quarantine. Revised 

January 7, 2011. Riverdale, MD.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service, 2007b. Importation of solid wood packing material, supplement 

to the final environmental impact statement—October 2007. Riverdale, 

MD.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Stratospheric Protection Division, 

2007 Pers. comm. between J. Arling (EPA) and P. Grove (USDA, 

APHIS) regarding changes to current methyl bromide treatment schedules 

or rates of usage. August 29, 2007.