The type of permit you need depends on the type of plant or plant product being imported. You can apply for the required permits online at least 30 days before shipping the imported plants. Many plants and plant products are imported into the United States Current plant imports include: In addition, it is important to know that there may be additional costs associated with importing wood from certain countries. It is important to note that wooden furniture imported from China is subject to the authority of anti-dumping duties. Under the provisions of the Customs Act of 1930, the U.S. government may impose customs duties on goods sold below market value and « dumped » in U.S. markets. Furniture imported from China is often cheaper than furniture made in the United States, which enforces anti-dumping rules. Wooden furniture imported from China is often subject to these additional duties.
Special rules must be observed when importing certain types of wood. According to the USDA, all raw softwood when the wood is imported should be delivered to a facility with a valid crop protection and quarantine agreement. Wood and timber products must be heat-treated from the first port of arrival within 30 days of release. Softwood is widely used to make paper and paper products. Other commonly imported crop products are wood and wood. There are special conditions for importing timber into the United States. (c) A compliance agreement for the purification of imported seed or the processing of sieves otherwise prohibited from Canada is a written agreement[1] between a person engaged in such activity, the State in which the enterprise carries on business and APHIS, in which the individual undertakes to comply with the provisions of this Part and the conditions attached thereto. A compliance agreement may be terminated, orally or in writing, by the APHIS inspector supervising its application if the compliance agreement determines that the person who entered into the compliance agreement has not complied with the provisions of this Part or the conditions imposed under this Part. If the annulment is made orally, the decision and the reasons for the decision must be confirmed in writing as soon as circumstances permit. Any person whose compliance agreement has been terminated may appeal the decision in writing to the Administrator within 10 days of receiving written notice of termination. The complaint must state all the facts and grounds on which the person relies to prove that the compliance contract was wrongly terminated. The Administrator shall grant or reject the appeal in writing as soon as possible, stating the reasons for the decision.
In the event of a conflict relating to a material fact, a hearing is held to resolve that conflict. The rules of procedure for such a hearing shall be laid down by the administrator. You need a customs guarantee to import plants. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, customs security is required if you are importing goods valued at more than $2,500 or if the imported goods are subject to the requirements of another federal agency. Since plants and plant products are subject to USDA requirements, a customs guarantee is required. (a) Sample size. As set out in paragraph 361.4(b), seed samples must be taken from each seed lot imported for seeding (planting) to determine whether noxious weed seed of the noxious weeds listed in paragraph 361.6(a) is present. Samples shall be taken in accordance with points (b) and (c) of this Section. Unused portions of rare or expensive seed samples will be returned by APHIS at the request of the importer. Importing plants and plant products into the United States is quite common.
Plants and plant products range from flowers and trees to seeds and fruits/vegetables. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for overseeing all imported plants and seeds. Some plants and seeds require an import permit, others may require a phytosanitary certificate. The National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) uses the Phytosanitary Certificate to ensure that import requirements are met. Here`s what you need to know about importing plants and plant products. (3) Sieves of seed of wheat, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, field corn, sorghum, ginstermais, flax, millet, common, soybean, cowpea, field peas or field beans not imported for seed (planting) and the declaration appended to the screenings under section 361.2(a) must indicate that the screenings are imported for processing or manufacture; A customs guarantee is a document that acts as an insurance policy. A customs bond is an import bond that ensures the payment of duties and taxes to the U.S. government on the importation of goods and merchandise.
There are two main types of customs guarantees: single entry and continuous entry. A single-entry customs guarantee covers a shipment imported into the United States. A continuous bond is valid for one year and covers all imports into the United States during the year. The type of bond you choose to import plants depends on how often you want to import. You will also find that plants and plant products have different import requirements for different industries. There are various import regulations for: (b) No person shall import agricultural seed, vegetable seed or sieve into the United States unless the importation is in accordance with this Part. You can search a database for plants and plant products to determine import eligibility. APHIS provides the Fruits and Vegetable Import Requirements (FAVIR) database to search for plants that can be imported into the United States. The FAVIR identifies approved goods that are eligible for importation in accordance with the Product Import Requirements (CIR).
According to the USDA, there are import restrictions on certain plants and plant products. Prohibited and restricted plants include valuable plants and natural plants such as apples, rice, grapes, elms, maples, peaches, potatoes, sweet potatoes and sugar cane. (b) Any container of agricultural and vegetable seed imported into the United States for sowing (planting) must be marked to indicate the identification code or name of the seed lot. the name of each species or species and variety of agricultural seed or the name of each species and variety of vegetable seed present in the lot representing more than 5 % of the total; and the designation « hybrid » if the lot contains hybrid seed. The varieties and variety denominations used on the label must correspond to the variety and variety names used in the definitions of « agricultural seed » and « vegetable seed » in § 361.1. If the seed in the lot has been treated, each container containing a species of at least 8 points must be marked as follows: (iv) If the seed lot is adulterated with noxious weed seed pursuant to section 361.6(a)(2), the seed may be permitted to enter the United States for feeding or production purposes. provided that the importer withdraws the original declaration and submits a new declaration showing that the seed is imported for animal feed or production purposes and that no part of the seed is used for sowing (planting). Consider packing the plants you import in a sturdy cardboard box just large enough to hold the contents. Additional space in the box can cause plants to move and damage them during transport. Consider reinforcing the edges of the boxes with packing tape. In the United States and Canada, the importer (buyer) is responsible for ensuring that all goods imported into their country of residence comply with government import regulations.
Imports of plants, crop products and agricultural products are in principle subject to an import licence. It is important to know that no permit is required for the importation of 12 plants or less. The USDA issues various types of permits for the importation of plants and plant products into the United States. These approvals include: The U.S. seed export sector is growing steadily, giving more seed companies the opportunity to test their products in an international market. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture`s Foreign Agricultural Service, the value of U.S. seed exports has steadily increased since 2008, when companies transported nearly $1.17 billion worth of seed across borders. That figure was $1.45 billion in 2013. That`s a 24% increase in five years, or nearly 5% per year.
In addition, more and more countries are signing the International Plant Protection Convention – a multilateral international agreement administered by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and recognized by the World Trade Organization as the only international phytosanitary standards body.