The Lacey Act combats illegal trafficking of wildlife, fish, and plants. It is against the law to import into the United States any illegally harvested plant or plant product, and certain products require a declaration.
On December 1, 2024, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will begin implementing Phase VII of the Lacey Act provisions for certain imported plant and wood products. In this phase, Lacey Act declarations will be required for all remaining plant product Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes that are not 100-percent composite materials.
If you import items that contain plant products and do not currently file a Lacey Act declaration, you most likely need to file declarations once we implement Phase VII. A wide array of imported products—such as furniture, additional essential oils, and cork—that never needed Lacey Act declarations before will now need them.
Here’s what you can do to prepare for Phase VII:
- Know your supply chain for each piece of plant material in the product. An imported product may include many different plant species. For example, furniture may include inlays of many species. Communicate with your suppliers to obtain plant information—the scientific name for each piece of plant product and where that plant was harvested.
- Learn how to file a declaration. Familiarize yourself with the requirements and what information you need to file.
- Get answers to your questions. For more specifics, check out our frequently asked questions.
