[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 125 (Friday, July 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35259-35261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14155]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2008-0119]


Implementation of Revised Lacey Act Provisions

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 amended the 
Lacey Act to provide, among other things, that importers submit a 
declaration at the time of importation for certain plants and plant 
products. Enforcement of the declaration requirement began on April 1, 
2009, and products requiring a declaration are being phased-in. The 
purpose of this notice is to inform the public of a change in the date 
of implementation for Phase VI of the enforcement schedule.

DATES: Implementation of Phase VI of the Lacey Act enforcement schedule 
will begin October 1, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Dorothy Wayson, National Policy 
Manager, Lacey Act Program, Compliance and Environmental Coordination 
Branch, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 150, Riverdale, MD 20737; 
(301) 851-2036.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.), first enacted in 1900 and 
significantly amended in 1981, is the United States' oldest wildlife 
protection statute. The Act combats trafficking in illegally taken 
wildlife, fish, or plants. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 
2008, effective May 22, 2008, amended the Lacey Act by expanding its 
protection to a broader range of plants and plant products (Section 
8204, Prevention of Illegal Logging Practices). The Lacey Act now makes 
it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or 
purchase in

[[Page 35260]]

interstate or foreign commerce any plant, with some limited exceptions, 
taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law of the 
United States or an Indian Tribe, or in violation of any State or 
foreign law that protects plants or that regulates certain specified 
plant-related activities. The Lacey Act also now makes it unlawful to 
make or submit any false record, account, or label for, or any false 
identification of, any plant.
    In addition, Section 3 of the Lacey Act, as amended, makes it 
unlawful, beginning December 15, 2008, to import certain plants, 
including plant products, without an import declaration. The 
declaration must contain the scientific name of the plant, value of the 
importation, quantity of the plant, and name of the country from which 
the plant was harvested. For paper and paperboard products containing 
recycled content, the declaration also must include the average percent 
of recycled content without regard for species or country of harvest. 
The plant import declaration requirement does not apply to plants used 
exclusively as packaging material to support, protect, or carry another 
item, unless the packaging material itself is the item being imported. 
Currently, enforcement of the declaration requirement is being phased 
in, as described in three notices we published in the Federal 
Register,\1\ the first on February 3, 2009 (74 FR 5911-5913, Docket No. 
APHIS-2008-0119), the second on September 2, 2009 (74 FR 45415-45418, 
Docket No. APHIS-2008-0119), and the third on February 6, 2015 (80 FR 
6681-6683, Docket No. APHIS-2008-0119).
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    \1\ To view the notices and the comments we received, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov, and enter APHIS-2008-0119 in the Search 
field.
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    In our February 2009 notice, we committed to providing affected 
individuals and industry with at least 6 months' notice for any 
products that would be added to the phase-in schedule. The phased-in 
enforcement schedule began April 1, 2009. The most recent phase (V) 
began on August 6, 2015. The enforcement schedule is available on the 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) website at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/import-information/SA_Lacey_Act. We continue to consider the applicability of the 
declaration requirement to products not included in the current phase-
in schedule.
    On March 31, 2020, we published a notice in the Federal Register 
(85 FR 17849-17850, Docket No. APHIS-2008-0119) announcing Phase VI of 
the enforcement schedule, which would have begun on October 1, 2020. We 
solicited comments concerning our proposal until July 1, 2020. We 
received 31 comments by that date. They were from industry 
associations, conservation organizations, importers, exporters, and 
representatives of foreign governments.
    Several commenters were concerned that adding products under 
Harmonized Tariff Code 4415, which includes cases, boxes, crates, 
drums, containers, pallets, and box-pallets, and other solid wood 
packaging materials, would result in unnecessary burden and disruptions 
to international trade if the declaration requirement was enforced for 
these packaging materials.
    The Act specifies that the plant import declaration requirement 
does not apply to plants used exclusively as packaging material to 
support, protect, or carry another item, unless the packaging material 
itself is the item being imported (Sec.  3372(f)(3)). APHIS will only 
require a declaration for new products in Harmonized Tariff Code 4415 
that are formally entering the United States. The declaration 
requirement will not apply to used, recycled, or reclaimed pallets or 
to pallets, empty or under load, that are used to carry goods imported 
into the United States.
    Some commenters expressed concern about the addition of essential 
oils in Harmonized Tariff Code 3301.29.5150--essential oils of 
``other.'' These commenters stated that it was unclear what was 
included under ``other'' and that there could be attempts to 
inaccurately classify products under different codes to avoid the plant 
import declaration requirement.
    We agree with the commenters that this code may not provide 
sufficient specificity and could result in both deliberate and 
unintentional inaccuracies. Accordingly, we have decided to remove 
Harmonized Tariff Code 3301.29.5150--essential oils of ``other'' from 
this implementation phase.
    In the initial notice, we included both Harmonized Tariff Code 
9209.92 and the 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Code 9209.92.8000. Listing 
the 10-digit code is unnecessary, since it already falls under 9209.92. 
We also mistakenly categorized Harmonized Tariff Code 9209.99.8000 as 
``musical instruments of heading 9202, other.'' It should read simply 
``Other.'' We have corrected these errors. An updated list of 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes is set out below. Furthermore, we have 
decided to delay implementation of the enforcement phase based on the 
comments we received. Implementation of Phase VI will now begin on 
October 1, 2021.

Ch. 33 Headings (Essential Oils)

<bullet> 3301295109--essential oils of cedarwood
<bullet> 3301295121--essential oils of linaloe or bois de rose
<bullet> 3301295139--essential oils of sandalwood

Ch. 42 Headings (Trunks, Cases, Suitcases)

<bullet> 4202292000--trunks, cases, and suitcases of wood
<bullet> 4202992000--other, of wood, not lined
<bullet> 4202993000--other, of wood, lined

Ch. 44 Headings (Wood and Articles of Wood)

<bullet> 441012--oriented strand board (OSB)
<bullet> 4415--cases, boxes, crates, drums, containers, pallets, box-
pallets, etc.

Ch. 92 Headings (Musical Instruments)

<bullet> 9205902000--wind musical instruments: bagpipes
<bullet> 9205904020--clarinets
<bullet> 9205904080--other (woodwind instruments)
<bullet> 9205904060--flutes and piccolos
<bullet> 9206002000--drums
<bullet> 9207900040--musical instruments (fretted string instruments)
<bullet> 9209.92--parts and accessories for musical instruments of 
heading 9202
<bullet> 9209992000--parts and accessories for bagpipes
<bullet> 9209994040--parts and accessories for other woodwind 
instruments
<bullet> 9209998000--other

Ch. 96 Headings (Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles)

<bullet> 9620005500--monopods, bipods, tripods and similar articles of 
wood

Additional Information

    APHIS will continue to provide the latest information regarding the 
Lacey Act on our website, https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/import-information/SA_Lacey_Act. The website currently 
contains the Lacey Act, as amended; a slideshow covering background and 
context, requirements, commodities and products covered, information on 
prohibitions, and the current status of implementation of the 
declaration requirement of the Lacey Act; frequently asked questions; 
the phase-in implementation plan; a link to the Lacey Act Web 
Governance System (LAWGS); and the paper declaration form. The website 
will be updated as new materials become available. We encourage persons 
interested in

[[Page 35261]]

receiving timely updates on APHIS' Lacey Act efforts to register for 
our stakeholder registry at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAAPHIS/subscriber/new/ and select ``Lacey Act Declaration'' as a 
topic of interest.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This notice contains no new information collection or recordkeeping 
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.). The information collection activities included in this notice 
are approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control 
number 0579-0349.

E-Government Act Compliance

    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is committed to 
compliance with the E-Government Act to promote the use of the internet 
and other information technologies, to provide increased opportunities 
for citizen access to Government information and services, and for 
other purposes. For information pertinent to E-Government Act 
compliance related to this notice, please contact Mr. Joseph Moxey, 
APHIS' Paperwork Reduction Act Coordinator, at (301) 851-2483.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 28th day of June 2021.
Mark Davidson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-14155 Filed 7-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P