美国关于非法木材和纸张的法律

In November 2009, U.S. federal agents突袭吉布森吉他公司的制造工厂在田纳西州纳什维尔，作为对吉布森一些乐器中使用的稀有木材非法贸易的调查的一部分。

尽管癫痫发作成为头条新闻，但很少有人意识到这不是2008年修正案的第一次执行美国莱西法案(PDF), which banned commerce in illegal timber and paper products in the United States. There was one before it that has received little attention, until now.

Five months earlier, agents of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service seized three pallets of tropical hardwood as they entered the Port of Tampa, Fla., from Iquitos, Peru. Originating deep in the Amazon, the pallets contained numerous species of decorative woods, including tigrillo (Swartzia Arborescens），Palisangre（Brosimum Rubescens), and tigre caspi (Zygia cataractae). Unlike the Gibson case, agents confiscated the wood on grounds that the shipment violated Lacey's declaration requirements. The seizure was supported by substantial evidence that the exporter was using stolen and forged documents. Details of the U.S. Department of Interior decision areavailable here（PDF）。

It appears that the amended Lacey Act has teeth. Enforcement has begun, both on and off the public radar. This is a good development for the world's forests and for all law-abiding businesses.

该百年历史的美国法律一直是减少非法野生动植物贸易的有效手段。它在2008年进行了修订，以涵盖用树木和其他植物制造的产品。实际上，自2008年5月22日起，法律：

•禁止贸易在美国边界内外的任何产品，这些产品是由树木或其他因违反收成国家违反法律而登录或交易的植物的产品。产品包括纸，木材和家具。

•要求植物产品的进口商宣布收获国，植物的属和物种以及产品的数量和价值（这是“声明要求”）。

• Establishes penalties for violations, including forfeiture of goods and vessels, fines of up to $500,000, and prison terms of up to five years.

秘鲁热带硬木的扣押提供了一些有关执行修订《蕾丝法案》的见解，以及要保持合规性需要采取的措施：

1. Take the Declaration Requirement Seriously -- the U.S. Government Does

Declarations are the first line of defense against the import of illegally harvested wood and other plant products. Because of this focus, it is important to correctly fill out your declaration forms.

2.注意危险信号

Peculiarities that arise in the course of a business transaction should trigger an importer or buyer to ask more questions about the product's origin and legality and, if necessary, step away from the transaction. The Peru case had at least four peculiarities.

First, this was the first time the buyer had imported from Peru, thus it was purchasing from an unfamiliar source market. Second, an exporter in Peru contacted the buyer out of the blue with wood to sell; the buyer did not initiate the deal. Third, prior to the transaction, the buyer had received an email indicating that the company supplying the material had suspended its business operations. Fourth, the supplier in Peru requested receiving payment via money order made directly to an individual, not a company. Red flags, anyone?

3.表现出适当的护理

修订后的莱西法案的核心是每个买家的责任 - 无论供应链中的何处 - 进行“应有的护理”。适当的护理是行使合理审慎的人在相同情况下将采取适当行动水平的法律术语，以最大程度地减少购买或非法交易的植物产品的风险。

The Office of the Solicitor stated that the buyer of the Peruvian wood "did not do all he could within his power to comply with regulations and ensure that the shipment was authorized by an export permit that properly documented the required information and was declared appropriately under the Lacey Act upon arrival to the United States."

买家职位上的某人可以做什么？好吧，这是您第一次从特定国家购买木头或纸吗？如果答案是肯定的，那么请了解那里非法伐木的程度，并通过承担这种风险来评估您的舒适度。

Is this a new supplier? Do your homework on it. Did you learn of problems affecting the supplier? Then probe further to understand the nature of the problems and the level of risk they pose to you. If this and other research still leaves you suspicious, find another supplier. Document your efforts in writing.

4.注意检测莱西违规行为的多种方法

虚假的声明陈述，保护区域中登录的卫星图像，在纸张中识别受保护物种的纤维测试，随机的木材检查以及对非法交易的秘密调查是人们发现违反莱西法案的几种方式。

Two played an important role in the Peru case. First, on the declaration form, the buyer's import broker classified the three pallets as containing finished wood products when, in fact, the pallets contained raw wood. This incorrect classification enabled the importer to avoid having to fill out more detail about the shipment since, at the time, full declarations for finished wood products had not been phased in. But a visual inspection can detect the difference.

其次，根据大量证据，美国鱼类和野生动物服务局在2009年5月收到了一份小费，表明秘鲁伊基托斯的木材被盗和伪造的文件正在前往Yacu Puma船上的坦帕。当他收到托运人的账单以货物而不是他的货物时，“提示者”已经意识到了货物。那里有许多“眼睛和耳朵”，有些来自未被人们的地方。

5. Manage Your Supply Chain

Lacey Act violations can occur anywhere along the forest product supply chain. Thus the well-worn adage "a chain is only as good as its weakest link" applies here too. In the Peru case, actions by the broker had ramifications for the buyer.

6.无知不是借口

用美国内政部律师事务所所涉及的律师事务所的话说：“一家专门从事国际货物的公司应精通适用此类交易的适用法律，并且还应在对该交易的任何修正案上进行最新法律。《蕾丝法案修正案》于2008年通过，使行业有时间适应并熟悉执行之前的变化。”

一个结论是，幕后发生了很多事情。这种木材癫痫发作发生在2009年6月，但现在刚刚进入公众。出于法律原因，正在进行多少措施，目前正在进行多少次调查？没人知道。

但是我们所知道的是，美国政府已经赋予了修订的莱西法案。

有关如何在购买森林产品时如何进行适当护理的更多信息，请访问www.forestlegaly.org。

克雷格·汉森（Craig Hanson）是世界资源研究所（World Resources Institute）的《人民与生态系统计划》（People＆Ecosystems）计划的主任，本文最初出现在那里。

Image CC licensed by Flickr userOkkoPyykkö。