{"id":219223,"date":"2009-12-22T11:58:43","date_gmt":"2009-12-22T16:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"11458 at http:\/\/www.wri.org"},"modified":"2009-12-22T11:58:43","modified_gmt":"2009-12-22T16:58:43","slug":"fact-sheet-are-you-ready-for-the-lacey-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/219223","title":{"rendered":"Fact Sheet: Are You Ready for the Lacey Act?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>What is the Lacey Act and how can companies comply? This fact sheet provides answers to frequently asked questions.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a class=\"filelink filelink_pdf\" href=\"http:\/\/pdf.wri.org\/factsheets\/factsheet_are_you_ready_for_the_lacey_act.pdf\" title=\"Download Fact Sheet\">Download Fact Sheet<\/a> <span class=\"filelink_description\">(PDF, 4&nbsp;pages, 231&nbsp;Kb)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On November 17, 2009, U.S. federal agents raided Gibson Guitar Corp.\u2019s Nashville, Tennessee manufacturing facility. The raid was part of an investigation<br \/>\ninto the illegal trade of a rare wood species allegedly used in some of Gibson\u2019s renowned musical instruments. According to press reports, agents seized<br \/>\nwood, guitars, and documents in the first known enforcement action under the recently amended Lacey Act. Widely covered in the media, the raid is a<br \/>\nwake-up call to all businesses that are part of forest product supply chains that they need to heed the Lacey Act.<br \/>\nWhat is the Lacey Act? What risks do buyers, traders, and sellers of wood, paper, and other forest products face if they violate it? What can companies do<br \/>\nto avoid becoming the subject of a Lacey Act investigation? This fact sheet provides some answers to these and related questions.<\/p>\n<h3>1. What is the U.S. Lacey Act and why is it important?<\/h3>\n<p>On May 22, 2008, the U.S. Congress passed a groundbreaking law banning<br \/>\ncommerce in illegally sourced plants and their products\u2014including timber,<br \/>\nwood, and paper products. The new law is an amendment to the Lacey Act of<br \/>\n1900, named after the congressman who fi rst championed it. While the Lacey<br \/>\nAct has long been one of the most powerful tools for U.S. agencies fi ghting<br \/>\nwildlife crime, its potential to combat illegal logging remained untapped.<br \/>\nNow the Lacey Act sets a precedent for the global trade in plants and plant<br \/>\nproducts, acknowledging and supporting the efforts of other countries to govern their<br \/>\nown natural resources and putting in place powerful incentives for<br \/>\ncompanies trading in these commodities to do the same.<\/p>\n<h3>2. What does the law do to address illegal logging?<\/h3>\n<p>To address illegal logging and other illegal plant trade, the amended Lacey Act does<br \/>\nthree main things:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Prohibits all trade in plants and plant products\u2014including furniture, paper, and<br \/>\nlumber\u2014that are illegally sourced from any U.S. state or foreign country;<\/li>\n<li>Requires importers to declare the country of origin of harvest and species name of<br \/>\nall plants contained in their products (a provision that is currently being phased<br \/>\nin); and<\/li>\n<li>Establishes penalties for violations of the law, including forfeiture of goods and<br \/>\nvessels, fi nes, and jail time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>3. When does the amended Lacey Act go into effect?<\/h3>\n<p>The amended Lacey Act has been in effect since May 22, 2008. Companies or persons caught with illegally sourced wood or plant products can now be prosecuted and have their goods confi scated. The declaration requirement of the Lacey Act is being phased in by product type.1 Throughout this phase-in<br \/>\nprocess, enforcement of the act\u2019s prohibition on trade in illegally sourced plant and plant products is already in effect for all types of products,<br \/>\nwhether or not they are on the phase-in schedule.<\/p>\n<h3>4. What is &#8220;illegal&#8221; under the amended Lacey Act?<\/h3>\n<p>There are two components to a violation of the Lacey Act. First, a plant must be taken, harvested, possessed, transported, sold, or exported in violation<br \/>\nof a relevant underlying law in any foreign country or the United States. This constitutes an illegally sourced plant.<br \/>\nSecond, a person or company must trade this illegally sourced plant in U.S. interstate or foreign commerce\u2014in the act\u2019s words, one must \u201cimport,<br \/>\nexport, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase.\u201d It is only this second transaction that triggers a violation of the Lacey Act.<br \/>\nThe Lacey Act does not impose U.S. law on other countries. \u201cIllegally sourced\u201d is defined by the content of a sovereign nation\u2019s own laws. The law applies<br \/>\nequally to plants taken, harvested, transported, or exported in violation of the relevant laws of any U.S. state, territory, or tribal government, as well.<\/p>\n<h3>5. What are some examples of an amended Lacey Act violation?<\/h3>\n<p>Examples of Lacey Act violations include, but are not limited to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A company in the United States imports a shipment of wood fl ooring from country X made from timber that had been harvested without valid<br \/>\npermits in country Y;<\/li>\n<li>A company in the United States purchases paper made from pulp sourced via illegal logging practices in country Y;<\/li>\n<li>An exporter purposefully mislabels a shipment to the United States as a less valuable species in order to avoid higher tariffs; and<\/li>\n<li>A veneer importer does not identify the correct country (or potential countries) of harvest origin for the species used.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>6. How pervasive is illegal logging?<\/h3>\n<p>Illegal logging occurs in all regions of the world. Examples include timber theft; logging in a national park or protected area; logging CITES-listed<br \/>\nspecies (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) without a permit; failure to pay taxes or tariffs on a shipment of logs; and taking<br \/>\nlogs without proper authorization. The extent of illegal logging varies dramatically by exporting country and species; in some countries, it is as high as<br \/>\n60\u201380 percent of harvested wood. An estimated 10 percent of annual wood imports into the United States is of illegal origin.<\/p>\n<h3>7. What are the penalties under the amended Lacey Act?<\/h3>\n<p>Lacey Act civil and criminal penalties vary according to how much the company or individual knew about the crime, as well as the value of the good or<br \/>\nshipment in question. Figure 1 describes the general categories and potential penalties.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"inline-image center\" style=\"width: 600px\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/files\/wri\/lacey_chart1.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"  class=\"framed\" \/><\/div>\n<h3>8. What can a company do to comply with the amended Lacey Act?<\/h3>\n<p>It is each company\u2019s responsibility to exercise \u201cdue care\u201d and understand the origin of its forest products, keeping in mind that a Lacey violation can<br \/>\noccur at almost any point in a forest product supply chain. To help improve compliance, a company could:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ask its suppliers questions, such as: What are your supply chains? Can you trace them all the way back to the forest? What is the degree of illegal<br \/>\nactivity in that forest or region? Do you have proper documentation?<\/li>\n<li>Institute internal policies and procedures to track forest products. Available options may include barcode or other tracing systems, legality verifi cation,<br \/>\nthird-party certifi cation, stepwise programs offered by various organizations, or other public-private partnership models designed to help<br \/>\ncompanies manage procurement of forest products.<\/li>\n<li>Use a robust risk management system to assess risk of illegality. Exercise extra care when procuring forest products from regions with known or<br \/>\nsuspected high rates of illegal logging. The Lacey Act is a fact-based rather than a document-based statute. If imported products turn out to be of illegal origin de facto, this fact will override<br \/>\nany statement or document to the contrary. Illegal products are often accompanied by forged documents. Therefore, evaluating your suppliers and<br \/>\ndeveloping trust in them and the forest products they provide is as important as obtaining physical papers. Means of evaluation can include:<\/li>\n<li>Conducting independent research on suppliers via on-line sources and your business contacts;<\/li>\n<li>Establishing long-term relationships rather than buying on spot markets;<\/li>\n<li>Consistently questioning your suppliers about the origin of their products and documenting their answers; and<\/li>\n<li>Making supplier and forest site visits if possible.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>9. Does certification mean that a forest product is exempt or already in compliance with the amended Lacey Act?<\/h3>\n<p>Third-party sustainable forestry certifi cation and legality verifi cation systems are very good approaches for demonstrating \u201cdue care.\u201d They help demonstrate<br \/>\nto both governments and customers that you have taken proactive steps to eliminate illegal wood or plant material from your supply chain.<br \/>\nHowever, certifi cation and verifi cation are not required by the Lacey Act, do not serve as \u201cget-out-of-jail free\u201d cards, and do not relieve importers of the<br \/>\nrequirement to submit appropriate import declaration information to APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of USDA) or U.S. Customs and<br \/>\nBorder Patrol.<\/p>\n<h3>10. Of what value is the scientific name (genus and species) of plant products in the declaration requirement?<\/h3>\n<p>Scientifi c names of plant species are a means of obtaining precise information about the forest product being purchased. Relying on common species<br \/>\nnames is imprecise, as a single species may have a wide variety of commercial or country-specifi c common names. Conversely, many distinct species<br \/>\nmay share the same common name. Buyers who do not know the scientifi c name cannot be sure whether or not they are violating CITES or other laws<br \/>\nthat protect endangered species.<\/p>\n<h3>11. Is the best strategy simply to stop sourcing from high risk countries?<\/h3>\n<p>Not necessarily. Examples of good and bad logging practices exist in every country. Certain high-value species and countries with long track records of<br \/>\nillegal logging clearly warrant particular vigilance, but that means \u201cdo your homework,\u201d not necessarily \u201cstay away.\u201d Businesses with good practices<br \/>\nin such countries should be rewarded. The U.S. government will not be creating an offi cial list of \u201chigh-risk\u201d countries. No matter from which country<br \/>\nyou source, including the United States or Canada, you should know as much as possible about the wood material\u2019s origin.<\/p>\n<h3>12. Where can I learn more?<\/h3>\n<p>For more information, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.eia-global.org\/lacey\" title=\"www.eia-global.org\/lacey\">www.eia-global.org\/lacey<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sustainableforestprods.org\">www.sustainableforestprods.org.<\/a><br \/>\nOr contact:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anne Middleton, Forest Campaign Outreach Coordinator, Environmental Investigation Agency, <a href=\"mailto:&#97;&#110;&#110;&#101;&#64;&#101;&#105;&#97;&#45;&#105;&#110;&#116;&#101;&#114;&#110;&#97;&#116;&#105;&#111;&#110;&#97;&#108;&#46;&#111;&#114;&#103;\">&#97;&#110;&#110;&#101;&#64;&#101;&#105;&#97;&#45;&#105;&#110;&#116;&#101;&#114;&#110;&#97;&#116;&#105;&#111;&#110;&#97;&#108;&#46;&#111;&#114;&#103;<\/a>, +1 202 483 6621<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wri.org\/profile\/adam-grant\">Adam Grant<\/a>, Senior Associate, World Resources Institute, <a href=\"mailto:&#97;&#100;&#97;&#109;&#46;&#103;&#114;&#97;&#110;&#116;&#64;&#119;&#114;&#105;&#46;&#111;&#114;&#103;\">&#97;&#100;&#97;&#109;&#46;&#103;&#114;&#97;&#110;&#116;&#64;&#119;&#114;&#105;&#46;&#111;&#114;&#103;<\/a>, +1 202 729 7623<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a class=\"filelink filelink_pdf\" href=\"http:\/\/pdf.wri.org\/factsheets\/factsheet_are_you_ready_for_the_lacey_act.pdf\" title=\"Download Fact Sheet\">Download Fact Sheet<\/a> <span class=\"filelink_description\">(PDF, 4&nbsp;pages, 231&nbsp;Kb)<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/WRI_News_and_Views?a=QBlpjGtyu5o:VwfkYVbssgw:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/WRI_News_and_Views?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/WRI_News_and_Views?a=QBlpjGtyu5o:VwfkYVbssgw:dnMXMwOfBR0\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/WRI_News_and_Views?d=dnMXMwOfBR0\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/WRI_News_and_Views?a=QBlpjGtyu5o:VwfkYVbssgw:F7zBnMyn0Lo\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/WRI_News_and_Views?i=QBlpjGtyu5o:VwfkYVbssgw:F7zBnMyn0Lo\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/WRI_News_and_Views?a=QBlpjGtyu5o:VwfkYVbssgw:V_sGLiPBpWU\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/WRI_News_and_Views?i=QBlpjGtyu5o:VwfkYVbssgw:V_sGLiPBpWU\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/WRI_News_and_Views?a=QBlpjGtyu5o:VwfkYVbssgw:qj6IDK7rITs\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/WRI_News_and_Views?d=qj6IDK7rITs\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/WRI_News_and_Views?a=QBlpjGtyu5o:VwfkYVbssgw:gIN9vFwOqvQ\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/WRI_News_and_Views?i=QBlpjGtyu5o:VwfkYVbssgw:gIN9vFwOqvQ\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/WRI_News_and_Views\/~4\/QBlpjGtyu5o\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the Lacey Act and how can companies comply? This fact sheet provides answers to frequently asked questions. Download Fact Sheet (PDF, 4&nbsp;pages, 231&nbsp;Kb) On November 17, 2009, U.S. federal agents raided Gibson Guitar Corp.\u2019s Nashville, Tennessee manufacturing facility. The raid was part of an investigation into the illegal trade of a rare wood [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4287,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-219223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4287"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219223\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}