U.S. importers warned to comply with wood packaging treatments

U.S. importers warned to comply with wood packaging treatments    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued a warning this week to importers that they must comply with new requirements for wood packaging by Sept. 16.
   The new requirements specify that wood packaging, such as pallets, boxes, crates and dunnage, be either heat treated or fumigated with methyl bromide. In addition, these materials must be marked with an approved international logo, certifying that this treatment has been made.
   USDA, which has delegated enforcement of the requirement to Customs and Border Protection, said wood packaging without the international logo after Sept. 16 will be subject to re-exportation.
   The U.S. requirement is based on the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) standard for preventing the transport of destructive pests through untreated wood packaging. The United States is one of 116 countries to adopt the IPPC standard.
   Details of CBP’s enforcement operation for wood packaging material is available online at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/wpm/import.html.