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importing...

  • #21
The certificate could have been bogus or issued without actual inspection of the plants. That's why all plants and seed are supposed to be inspected on entry to the US. The only time a phytosanitary certificate is not required is with small seed lots under permit. However the seed still needs to be inspected.
 
  • #22
Basically 50 seeds of one species (or whatever the weight limit is. 50 coconuts is kind of bulky and not really a small seed lot). Each species must be clearly labeled on the packets.

NaN,

I've always had issues understanding legal documents/articles. So let me make sure I understand what you meant and what I read on: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/plant_imports/smalllots_seed.shtml

In order for me to order a small lot of seeds as defined above all I need is a small lots of seed import permit and no additional paperwork. Correct?
 
  • #23
In order for me to order a small lot of seeds as defined above all I need is a small lots of seed import permit and no additional paperwork. Correct?
I'll take a shot at this. To answer your question: yes - that's all you need (unless it's a protected species - I defer to NaN --> 621?)

However, once you receive your permit, there are directions that outline a process to follow. While the process is not difficult, when dealing with people 1) who don't like to follow directions or 2) have difficulty because English is not their 1st language -- it can end up being more difficult than it should be. To facilitate this process, I usually make up a package that includes everything (except postage on their end) so they can drop a packet of seeds in and ship it...
 
  • #24
Correct on all accounts. With PPQ 587 For Small Seed Lots no phytosanitary certificate is required as long as the shipment falls under the criteria of small seed lots. PPQ 621 is required for seeds of species that are so listed in Appendix I and sometimes Appendix II. Some Appendix I seeds are allowed without permit, Some Appendix II seeds require a permit. The best thing to do is to check the CITES Appendices. If there are exceptions to parts of plants such as seeds there will be a footnote. Be sure to check these carefully.

PPQ 621 costs $70 USD. Permit PPQ 587 is free.
 
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  • #25
Ron, NaN,

Thank you for replies. It would be so helpful is someone who deals with this on regular basis would post a comprehensive step by step how-to.

I am interested in ordering few plants from BCP, mexican pinguicula and petiolaris drosera and utrics. From what I have gathered these plants are not protected by CITES (unless I made a mistake searching). It seems that I need to apply for the permit for generally admissible plants (587) and the sender upon my request will provide the Phytosanitary certificates (for additional fee :( ). Does this sound correct. What did miss?

PS: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/permits/permit_plantmaterials.shtml
If I order less than 13 items I don't need the permit?
 
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  • #26
This circular summarizes everything you need to know. I've prepared a article that I need to clean up and add links to resources such as these. After that I'll submit it to the staff as a post in the article section.

See also
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/permits/nursery.shtml

Please note all mail shipments must be sent to a plant quarantine inspection center and not directly to the importer. The green and yellow label (PPQ Form 508) must be attached to the outside of the parcel. If the lot size is 12 or less then PPQ 587 is not required, just the phytosanitary certificate. However the package must be addressed to one of the inspection centers. The final destination address (you) must be included inside the package.
 
  • #27
Hopefully this won't be too far off topic.

I'll be in San Jose, CR for a few days for a business meeting next week. If I stumble across a reputable looking nursery and wanted to bring back a few things, what sort problems could I expect? Is it permissable to bring "personal" plants into the country? Or are permits needed no matter the amount of plants?

Other than the phytosanitary documentation that the nursery should be able to provide, is there anything else?

It's my first trip outside of the states, and I have no habla of espanol. So I'm a little nervous about it and decided not to hang around any extra days after the business is through. If someone knows of a good nursery in the San Jose or Cartago area, I'll do my best to make a side trip.
 
  • #28
If it's less than 13 plants all you need is the phytosanitary certificate. That's the limit that is allowable in baggage. Any more and you need the PPQ 587 permit.
 
  • #29
I will attempt to clear some of the confusion and misconceptions regarding the legal importation of Plants (include plant parts) and Seed in the US.

As per Code of Federal Regulations (Agriculture) Title 7.319, United States Code Title 7 (Agriculture) and United States Code Title 19 (Customs and Duties). Violations are punishable by criminal and civil penalties per United States Code Title 18 (Crimes and Criminal Procedures) - basically fines and/or imprisonment up to $250,000 or six years incarceration.

These regulations apply regardless if you are given, trade or buy plants and seeds on eBay, a website or through some other form of communication.

Falsely declaring plant material as many eBay sellers do as "craft items" is violation of the US Code 19 Customs and Duties and you can be penalized for Customs violations.

Importing plants without the proper permits and Phytosanitary Certificates and bypassing the Plant Protection and Quarantine inspection is in violation of CFR 7.319.

You are dealing with two regulating and enforcement agencies - The Department of Homeland Security (Customs) and the USDA (APHIS). Either or both can bring charges against you, sometimes years apart.

Definitions:

Lot - is a standard term used in the grain and seed industry
The Seed Lot defined as: a quantity of seed that is uniform to percentage of pure commodity seed and the germination rates; other viable non-commodity seed & recognized noxious weed seed, organic and non viable inert contaminants.

From CFR Title 7:
§ 301.92–1 Lot. A contiguous block of plants of the same species or cultivar, of the same container size and and from the same source, if known.

§ 318.13–2 Lot. A number of units of a single commodity, identifiable by its homogeneity of composition and origin, forming all or part of a consignment.

Plant. Any plant (including any plant part) for or capable of propagation, including a tree, a tissue culture, a plantlet culture, pollen, a shrub, a vine, a cutting, a graft, a scion, a bud, a bulb, a root, and a seed.

Plants for planting. Plants intended to remain planted, to be planted or replanted.


Prohibited article.
Any plant for planting designated in §319.37–2 (a) or (b), except wood articles regulated under §§319.40–1 through 319.40–11, “Subpart—Logs, Lumber, and Other Unmanufactured Wood Articles.”

Regulated plant. A vascular or nonvascular plant. Vascular plants include gymnosperms, angiosperms, ferns, and fern allies. Gymnosperms include cycads, conifers, and gingko. Angiosperms include any flowering plant. Fern allies include club mosses, horsetails, whisk ferns, spike mosses, and quillworts. Nonvascular plants include mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and green algae.

Restricted article. Any plant for planting, excluding any prohibited articles listed in §319.37–2(a) or (b) of this subpart, any articles whose importation is not authorized pending pest risk analysis under §319.37–2a of this subpart, and excluding any articles regulated in §§319.8 through 319.28 or 319.41 through 319.74–4 of this part and any articles regulated in part 360 of this chapter.

<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=3><B>Permits and Certificates Required</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=3>:</FONT></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><B>Small Seed Lots – 50 seeds, 10 grams or less of any one taxon, no more than 50 taxa per shipment </B></P><TABLE WIDTH=665 BORDER=1 BORDERCOLOR="#000000" CELLPADDING=4 CELLSPACING=0><COL WIDTH=213><COL WIDTH=214><COL WIDTH=213><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>Documentation</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Required</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Notes</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>PPQ 587</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Yes</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Registered For Small Seed Lots</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>Phytosanitary Certificate</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>No</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P STYLE="font-weight: normal">seed must be free of any pests,diseases, plant or non-plant material other than seed</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>CITES (PPQ 621)</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Yes*, to applicable species</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Shipper must include copies of their CITES certificates</P></TD></TR></TABLE><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always"><B>Plants or Seed – for Lots of 13 or more or seed quantities greater than 50 seeds or 10 grams</B></P><TABLE WIDTH=665 BORDER=1 BORDERCOLOR="#000000" CELLPADDING=4 CELLSPACING=0><COL WIDTH=213><COL WIDTH=214><COL WIDTH=213><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>Documentation</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Required</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Notes</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>PPQ 587</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Yes</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Registered for General Importation of Plants</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>Phytosanitary Certificate</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Yes</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Certifies plants are free of pests and disease and meets importrequirements of US</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>CITES (PPQ 621)</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Yes*, to applicable species</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Shipper must include copies of their CITES certificates</P></TD></TR></TABLE><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><B>Plants or Seed – for Lots of 12 or less (where qty of seed > 50 seeds or 10 grams per taxa)</B></P><TABLE WIDTH=665 BORDER=1 BORDERCOLOR="#000000" CELLPADDING=4 CELLSPACING=0><COL WIDTH=213><COL WIDTH=214><COL WIDTH=213><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>Documentation</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Required</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Notes</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>PPQ 587</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>No</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P><BR></P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>Phytosanitary Certificate</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Yes</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Same as above</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>CITES (PPQ 621)</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Yes*, to applicable species</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Same as above</P></TD></TR></TABLE><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">* CITES permits are not required if plants were propagated from tissue culture and sent in sealed flasks and sterile media. However they must be accompanied by certificates of artificial propagation or export permits.</P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">Plants – see above for definitions</P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><B>Costs (as of February 2012)</B></P><TABLE WIDTH=665 BORDER=1 BORDERCOLOR="#000000" CELLPADDING=4 CELLSPACING=0><COL WIDTH=323><COL WIDTH=324><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=323><P>PPQ 621 (CITES)</P></TD><TD WIDTH=324><P>$70 USD</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=323><P>PPQ 587</P></TD><TD WIDTH=324><P>free</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=323><P>Phytosanitary Certificates</P></TD><TD WIDTH=324><P>Determined by the Issuing Country, cost is passed on to the importer/buyer. Some countries require one certificate per taxon, others one per shipment. Costs are subject to currency exchanges rates. Costs range from $20 to over $200 USD</P></TD></TR></TABLE><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal"><BR></P>

Regardless of which permits and certificates are required all plant material must pass through one of the Plant Protection and Quarantine inspection centers on entering the US.


I contacted a Senior Import Specialist at the APHIS Headquarters in Riverdale, MD with these specific questions:

Q: A phytosanitary certificate is not required for plants in-vitro with
sterile media, e.g. sealed in a tissue culture flask and growing media.
Is this correct?


A: No all plants for propagation require a phytosanitary
certificate unless an import permit instructs otherwise or the commodity
is prohibited entry into the USA. The Phyto reflects the inspection of the
exporting country that the plants is the shipment meet the entry
requirements of the USA.


Q: Are plants shipped in this manner required to enter the US through a PPQ
inspection center?


A: Yes

Q: Are tubers or gemmae eligible for the Small Seeds Permit provided the
50 count or 10 grams per taxon is not exceeded?


A: No the small lots of seed is for seed not vegetative plant material.
Tubers are not seed.


Q: Or is a phytosanitary certificate required regardless?

A: A Phytosanitary certificate is required for all propagative plant material
and sometimes for non propagative plant material that is eligible for
entry into the USA.

See also this circular from APHIS that explains the obligations that a foreign shipper and importer must fulfill to legal import plants and seed to the US. A copy of this should be sent to the party exporting the plants or seed. It is available in several languages:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/permits/downloads/q37-2circular.pdf
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/permits/downloads/q37-1circular.pdf
If you have any questions contact APHIS:

Contact Permit Services:
Telephone (301) 734-0841 or (877) 770-5990 (Toll-Free Automated System); Fax (301) 734-4300; Email: Permits@aphis.usda.gov
 
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  • #30
This is of little worry to me as a Canadian, but great post NAN. "Sticky" material IMO.
 
  • #31
So, in short all I need to import anything I want to is-

PPQ 621 (CITES)
PPQ 587
Phytosanitary Certificates

Anyone know how much the phyto certs are?
 
  • #32
varies form country to country. Back in the day (when I was filling them out for the work at the USDA but it has been over 10 years) it also depend on the value of the shipment. I remember them being about $70 ish. Again here in USA over 10 years so things may have changed. and will be dependent on what the issuing country charges...
 
  • #33
Cost of Phytosanitary certificates are determined by the issuing country. Costs range any where from $20 to over $200 USD - depends on the exchange rate too. Some countries issue a single certificate for the shipment, others issue one certificate per taxon (e.g. 5 different species requires 5 certificates).

If you are looking at CITES species you also need to check with Fish and Wildlife Services if you need a permit ($100 I think) and your states Agriculture/Wildlife agencies.

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/permits/faq.html
http://www.fws.gov/forms/3-200-36.pdf
 
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  • #34
Thanks!
 
  • #35
So, in short all I need to import anything I want to is-

PPQ 621 (CITES)
PPQ 587
Phytosanitary Certificates

Anyone know how much the phyto certs are?

That depends on which plants you are importing and from which country. I know that this thread had started off concerning plant A from country X but since it has become a more general discussion on importing I would like to give an example I just ran into over the summer.
I wanted to obtain some caladenia (Australian terristrial orchids that form tubers for dormancy). There are currently no US sources for Caladenia. I can not afford to import any because
the Australian goverment has declared a $1000 (USD) export fee on each shipment of caladenia.
 
  • #36
Yes, a lot of red tape involved. That's why many sellers in the UK won't ship to the US and why Rob Cantly will only sell through contracted re-sellers/distributors. Imagine having to go through the hassle hand-holding a buyer through the permit process and shipping requirements on each and every order. And then the complaints when the shipment gets delayed because the buyer didn't get the proper permits or make the proper arrangements for the shipment.
 
  • #37
That's why many sellers in the UK won't ship to the US
I hope I can find one. Thats what i want...sarracenias from the UK. They just have so many that are unavailable and very hard to get. Anyone ever imported anything from France?
 
  • #38
I hope I can find one. Thats what i want...sarracenias from the UK. They just have so many that are unavailable and very hard to get.
You might want to try contacting Mike King, if you haven't already done so.
 
  • #39
Thank you Mobile. I havent contacted Mike King but I will.
 
  • #40
Just an FYI. Getting CITES certs from the US for export (even for non-native plants) is really difficult. They are not a department that is at all easy to work with. You have to literally bend over backwards to show they weren't illegally procured. How you prove a negative is still quite beyond me. My experience with that department has been that they will simply take your money and deny your application.
 
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