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Implementation of Revised Lacey Act Provisions

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Information Technology Industry Council filings
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Information Technology Industry Council filed 1 comment on this docket between Dec 9, 2008 and Dec 9, 2008. 62 other organizations filed here. The comment window closed 728d ago.

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Dec 9, 2008· Comment from Ryan Hill, Information Technology Industry Council· APHIS-2008-0119-0094

Please see attachment. Cindy Smith Administrator Animal and Plant Health and Inspection Service U.S. Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20250 W. Ralph Basham Commissioner Office of International Trade U.S Customs and Border Protection 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (Mint Annex) Washington, DC 20229 Ronald J. Tenpas Assistant Attorney General Environment and Natural Resources Division U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 H. Dale Hall Director U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20240 Re: Response to Implementation of Revised Lacey Act Provisions, Docket No. APHIS–2008–0119 Dear Ms. Smith, Mr. Basham, Mr. Tenpas, and Mr. Hall, The Information Technology Industry Council ("ITI") appreciates the opportunity to respond to the Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS), US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) notice and request for comments published October 8, 2008, on the implementation of revised Lacey Act provisions in section 8204 of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA). Illegal logging is having a devastating effect on the world's forests, and proper implementation of the Lacey Act will help to eliminate the practice without disrupting legitimate commerce or damaging the US economy. As stated in the Federal Register Notice, "Section 3 of the Lacey Act as amended makes it unlawful, beginning December 15, 2008, to import certain plant and plant products without an import declaration." The Lacey Act import declarations are required to contain, among other things: (1)scientific name of the plant; (2)value of importation; (3)quantity of the plant; and (4)name of the country from which the plant was harvested. There are amended content and/or declaration requirements for: (1)paper and paperboard products with recycled plant content; (2)plant products when the plant species they are made of varies and are unknown; and (3)plant products made of a species commonly harvested in more than one country, and the country is unknown. The Lacey Act, as amended, also provides a limited exclusion for plants and plant products "used exclusively as packaging material to support, protect, or carry another item, unless the packaging material itself is the item being imported." As global manufacturers and leading suppliers of high-technology goods and services, the high technology industry is concerned with the effects of the new Lacey Act provisions on our industry and the US economy, specifically the import declaration requirements and the proposed phase-in. ITI supports the points raised in the Congressional Guidance letter (the Letter) dated October 10, 2008. We strongly encourage US government agencies to adopt the provisions included in the Letter to address industry concerns with the implementation of the new Lacey Act amendments. We elaborate on several of our primary concerns below: Tariff Classification The tariff classification of the product as imported should be the basis for determining whether that product is subject to the plant declaration requirement. Electronic Filing ITI supports efforts by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to develop an electronic declaration form and system to collect the data required to be declared. Paperless entry processing is critical to the smooth operation of supply chains and to ensuring the prompt and efficient delivery of our products to consumers and businesses. Further, we agree with both the Federal Register Notice and the Letter that enforcement of the declaration requirement should not occur until such time as electronic filing is available, but no sooner than April 1, 2009. Additionally, given that CBP anticipates the electronic system will be complete by April 1, 2009, we respectfully request that importers be notified as soon as possible in the event that the electronic filing system is not expected to be available A…

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