Special Use Designations

Amabilis Fir and Western Hemlock (AATH)

APHIS added a new species grouping for amabilis fir and western hemlock (AATH). For the purposes of the Lacey Act declaration (PPQ Form 505), the AATH species grouping includes the following species groupings:

• Amabilis fir (Abies amabilis)
• Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)

Western Larch and Douglas Fir (LOPM)

APHIS also added a new species grouping for western larch and Douglas fir (LOPM). For the purposes of the Lacey Act declaration (PPQ Form 505), the LOPM species grouping includes the following species groupings:

• Western larch (Larix occidentalis)
• Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziensii)

These two groups each contain only two species that are similar and not easily distinguished one from another. They also contain common grades of lumber manufactured from varying proportions, commingled, and commonly traded together in individual shipments. Identifying the quantity of each particular species in individual shipments for these would be difficult, costly, and/or time consuming.

For shipments of these groupings (AATH and LOPM), the importer may declare the genus as “TEMP” and the species as either “AATH” or “LOPM” to represent the species that may be present in products, including pallets, that contain these species.

Enter the SUD into the “genus” and “species” field(s) for the declaration as shown in this example:

APHIS is working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to modify the APHIS Lacey Message Set in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system to add the permanent SUDs for these groupings. Once this is operational, importers and brokers can use the following permanent SUDs to report declaration information: 

• Genus: SPECIAL
• Species: AATH or LOPM

Spruce Pine Fir (SPF)

Spruce, pine, fir (SPF) is a common grade of lumber manufactured from varying proportions of spruce, pine, or fir species. SPF imports are a combination of several distinct species but identifying the particular species in any individual shipment would be difficult, costly, and/or time consuming.

For the purposes of the Lacey Act declaration (PPQ Form 505), the SPF species grouping includes the following species groupings:

• Abies balsamea
• Abies lasiocarpa
• Picea engelmannii
• Picea glauca
• Picea mariana
• Picea rubens
• Picea sitchensis
• Pinus banksiana
• Pinus contorta
• Pinus resinosa

For shipments of SPF, the importer may declare the genus as “Special” and the species as “SPF” to represent that the specific species are unknown, but the SPF species grouping represents all possible species that may be present in the product. However, if a species of wood contained in the shipment does not fall under the species grouping list above, the SPF grouping may not be used in the declaration to identify the genus and species of the plant or plant product being imported.

Enter the SUD into the “genus” and “species” field(s) for the declaration as: 

APHIS has also developed a process for interested parties to request the creation of additional species groupings.

On October 1, 2009, APHIS began enforcement of the declaration requirements for plant products in certain Harmonized Tariff Schedule chapters that are composed in whole or in part of composite materials, such as medium density fiberboard, particle board, or paperboard; or recycled, reused, or reclaimed (including driftwood) material. For the purposes of the Lacey Act declaration, importers of such materials may have difficulty identifying the scientific name (genus/species) of the plant products they import. If an importer of such materials is unable through the exercise of due care to determine the scientific name for the plant materials, the importer may use the applicable SUD. By using the SUD, the importer is representing that it is not possible through the exercise of due care to determine the scientific name of such plant materials. If a product is not composed entirely of composite, recycled, reused, and/or reclaimed materials, the importer must indicate the scientific name for all other plant product components.

In an effort to simplify the SUD policy, APHIS has combined the SUDs for composite products into one designation (“Composite”) and for reused and reclaimed into another designation (“Reclaimed”). The importer should use the appropriate designation for their product in the "Scientific Name" fields. Importers must also identify the type of product in the article description field. APHIS has not made any changes to the SUD for recycled material.

For purposes of the Lacey Act declaration, APHIS uses the following definitions for the terms “Composite,” “Recycled,” and “Reused and/or Reclaimed:”

• Composite—These are materials made of small fibers of more than one kind of plant that are bonded together chemically and include medium density fiberboard (MDF), high density fiberboard (HDF), oriented strand board (OSB), particle board, paper, paperboard, and cardboard.
• Recycled—These are materials derived from highly processed waste material and include recycled paper and recycled paperboard.
• Reclaimed and/or Reused—These are materials that have initially been processed by another company for a difference purpose and are then repurposed to create new products. The plant materials include construction debris, reclaimed lumber or wood salvaged from old buildings, furniture or ships. Driftwood could be considered either natural or reused.

Items Manufactured Before May 22, 2008

When plant products are imported that were manufactured before the enactment of the 2008 amendments to the Lacey Act (May 22, 2008), manufacturers may not have tracked the species name for their raw materials. It may be impossible to secure this information after the fact. If an importer of products manufactured before May 22, 2008, is unable to determine the scientific name of the plant materials contained in the products, the importer should use the applicable SUD set forth above. By using the SUD, the importer is representing that it is not possible, through the exercise of due care, to determine the scientific name for the plant materials. If a product is not manufactured entirely before May 22, 2008, the importer must indicate the scientific name for all product components manufactured after that date. 

No Plant Material Present—This SUD Has Been Removed

This SUD is no longer necessary. Importers should not file a declaration for products that do not contain any plant material. However, for importers or brokers filing the declaration in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), they will need to enter Disclaim Code “A” when the system prompts them to file a declaration for a product that contains no plant material. This may occur when the harmonized tariff schedule (HTS) code used to identify a product is one of the HTS codes listed in our Schedule of Enforcement, but your product does not contain any plant material (for example, stone sculptures).