Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

LACEY ACT IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE

October 10th, 2008
Beginning July 1, 2009, imported musical instruments containing wood or other plant material will need to be accompanied by an import declaration disclosing the scientific name of the wood or plant (including genus and species), the country of origin of the plant material, the quantity of the plant and the value of the product. The new requirement was contained in an amendment to the federal Lacey Act making it illegal to import or possess any wood or plant product (with some limited exceptions) that is taken or harvested in violation of the laws of the country of origin. The amendment was added to the omnibus farm bill signed by President Bush in early summer. Filing of the import declaration is being phased in over a number of months as Customs and Border Protection activates an electronic filing system. Beginning December 15, 2008 and continuing until the electronic filing system is available, importers may voluntarily file a paper declaration, though it is expected that few will opt to do so. NAMM is representing this issues with key Administration officials seeking to gather additional information and to point out potential problems for the music industry with implementation of the new requirement. Among the still-unresolved issues are whethe r an import declaration must be filed for personal imports, for re-import of instruments (e.g., those taken out of the country for a concert and then brought back), imports which arrive via commercial carrier such as FedEx, UPS, etc., and how to deal with importation of vintage or antique instruments where certain required data may not be known.
Additional information may be obtained from James Goldberg in NAMM’s Washington Office at 202-628-2929

Hmm, I would think that many many instruments would be grandfathered under this provision; many of the laws that in place now weren't around when many instruments were made. If they're gonna do this, that would be a fair approach to it IMO......

Just another way to jack up shipping charges.

mgauction wrote:... for re-import of instruments (e.g., those taken out of the country for a concert and then brought back), ...

Or for those originally sold overseas and then purchased by someone in the states.

One wonders why such legal **** is needed ... was somebody building shipping crates of Brazilian rosewood or mahogany as a way to get around the importation restrictions on 'endangered species' of wood?

doctorwho wrote:One wonders why such legal **** is needed ... was somebody building shipping crates of Brazilian rosewood or mahogany as a way to get around the importation restrictions on 'endangered species' of wood?

Right! Is this more important to spend time, paperwork & money on than finding Bin Laden?

mgauction wrote:

doctorwho wrote:One wonders why such legal **** is needed ... was somebody building shipping crates of Brazilian rosewood or mahogany as a way to get around the importation restrictions on 'endangered species' of wood?

Right! Is this more important to spend time, paperwork & money on than finding Bin Laden?

They found out that Bin Laden was stealing all the Brazilian rosewood and using it for firewood, so they're keen to get him now.....

Greg

Hmm.... more paperwork. I suspect this is the start of a trend - protectionism masquerading as environmentalism, all wrapped up in the finest red tape!

soundmasterg wrote:... They found out that Bin Laden was stealing all the Brazilian rosewood and using it for firewood, so they're keen to get him now.....
Greg

That reminds me of a story. A friend of mine in the Bay Area had to replace his dilapidated redwood fence. Being that he had a fireplace, he cut up the scrap redwood and burned it in his fireplace. Here is an excerpted paraphrase of our subsequent conversation:

Bob: You know, redwood burns really really nicely.

Gary: Yes, one would expect wood that is 2000 to 3000 years old to burn pretty well.

I would be more interested in a ban on wooden creates coming from other countries. A few years ago our neighborhood, along with much of this state, lost numerous ash trees due to the Emerald Ash Borer. The borers came from China in the wood of crates. There is no natural predator of this insect here.

You won't see wooden crates or pallets so often anymore as they are now all required to be fumigated before customs entry service will be provided.

johnhall wrote:You won't see wooden crates or pallets so often anymore as they are now all required to be fumigated before customs entry service will be provided.

That's good to know.

There is a very good article in the current VG magazine on the Lacey Act and it's implications. It seems we will need to declare the genus and species of our socks and underwear when we travel!

jps wrote:There is a very good article in the current VG magazine on the Lacey Act and it's implications. It seems we will need to declare the genus and species of our socks and underwear when we travel!

Required to be fumigated as well

jps wrote:There is a very good article in the current VG magazine on the Lacey Act and it's implications. It seems we will need to declare the genus and species of our socks and underwear when we travel!

What if you don't wear any?