Retailers will recommend to the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife Oceans and Insular Affairs that several significant practical compliance challenges have emerged from the 2008 Lacey Act Amendment that deserve attention from Congress. according to a statement from the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA).
Among other things, the law requires importers to provide to Customs and the Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service details such as the genus, species and country of harvest for products that include wood materials.
Testifying before the Committee and on behalf of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) is Laurie Everill, Regional Customer and Compliance Manager for IKEA-North America.
“While retailers strongly support efforts to combat illegal logging, there is a growing recognition that compliance with the Lacey Act is very difficult,” said Stephanie Lester, RILA's vice president for international trade. “Simple changes to the law would help retailers comply and achieve the policy goals shared RILA, our members and the law’s most strident advocates.”
Retailers support the goal of the Lacey Act to end the illegal taking of trees and plants throughout the world. To make implementation of the Lacey Act more targeted and effective, retailers are seeking changes to the law that would simplify the import declaration, ensure due process, clarify the scope of applicable foreign laws and regulations, and exclude products manufactured before the Lacey Act Amendment was enacted in 2008.
“The current bills in the House Tennessee Congressman Cooper’s RELIEF Act and Georgia Congressman Broun’s FOCUS Act have raised awareness of Members of Congress and the public to the practical challenges related to the Lacey Act Amendments. However, neither of these bills would adequately address these challenges, and in order to be credible, any change needs to be supported by the environmental community,” said Ms. Everill in testimony submitted to the Committee.“We are looking for a new legislative approach that effectively addresses the issues of business stakeholders, stands the best chance of generating broad, bipartisan support in Congress and all stakeholders, but without undermining the very important goal to stop illegal logging.”
Click here to view the full testimony submitted to the Committee.
