On July 9, 2018, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed an exception to the declaration requirement for products containing a minimal amount of plant materials.
The proposed rule would establish specific conditions under which exemptions would apply to the declaration filing requirements. Additionally, APHIS proposes to require importers to file declarations within three business days of importation.
According to APHIS, “Establishing a de minimis exception from the declaration requirement for products with minimal amounts of plant material would relieve importers of the burden of identifying very small amounts of plant material, while continuing to ensure that the declaration requirement fulfills the purposes of the Lacey Act.”
The Federal Register Notice may be found here:
