01.01.09
In comments submitted to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), Silver Spring, MD, requested the Congressional focus of recent amendments to the Lacey Act be maintained on timber species by exempting plants used in or as foods, drugs and cosmetics from importation declaration requirements established by the new amendments. The Lacey Act, originally adopted in 1900, has been described as the oldest wildlife protection statute in the U.S. Under new amendments, importers of both plants and “products thereof” are required to file a declaration upon importation that contains: the scientific name of any plant contained in the importation; a description of the value of the importation and the quantity of the plant, including the unit of measure; and the name of the country from which the plant was taken.