Wood Packaging Violations

Wood Packaging Violations

The current regulations governing imported wood packaging materials (WPM) have been in place for more than 10 years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has strict rules governing WPM in order to protect natural resources and comply with the larger international effort to stop the spread of invasive species of non-native woods and insects such as wood-boring beetles.

All WPM entering or transiting the United States, except wood of Canadian origin entering from Canada, must be heat-treated or fumigated at origin and marked with an approved logo certifying that it has been appropriately treated. Shipments containing non-compliant wood packaging material will not be allowed to enter the United States.

Examples of WPM include but are not limited to pallets, skids, pallet collars, containers, cratings/crates, boxes, cases, bins, reels, drums, load boards, dunnage. Wood packaging made of exempt materials but combined with solid wood components must still be treated and marked.

Importers are responsible for ensuring that their suppliers are aware of and compliant with the WPM requirements. USDA has the authority to examine cargo at the time of arrival in the U.S. for the presence of WPM and if violations are found, the shipment will not be released. The regulations call for immediate re-exportation of the entire shipment back to the supplier of origin. The re-exportation must be done under bond and in the same container, as unloading or transloading is not allowed.

Customs can and will issue penalties to the importer for failure to re-export under bond as required and for non-compliance due to repeated violations. Monetary penalties are given for wood packaging that has not been properly treated/ fumigated or has unauthorized or illegible stamps. If even one pallet in the shipment has an indecipherable marking, the whole shipment may be sent back to its country of origin. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently have no leniency and zero tolerance when it comes to these policies.

Below is a list of other violations to be aware of from section 319.40 of the CFR:

• No small particles or fragments of wood, slightly larger than sawdust, that result from chipping, sawing, or processing wood.
• No more than 2% by weight of the regulated articles in a lot show visual evidence of fructification of fungi or growth of other microorganisms that cause decay and the breakdown of cell walls in the regulated articles.
• Except for raw lumber, no more than 2% of the surface of all regulated articles in a lot may retain bark, with no single regulated article retaining bark on more than 5 percent of its surface. For raw lumber, debarking must remove 100% of the bark.

For more information on Agricultural Security, click HERE.

For the full list of Federal Code Regulations for imports, click HERE.

Please contact your Western Overseas representative with any questions.