The World Resources Institute (WRI), in partnership with the Environmental Investigation Agency, has prepared a four-page fact sheet about the Lacey Act, which prohibits trade in illegal plants or plant products.

The fact sheet entitled Are You Ready for the Lacey Act? answers many questions, including:

- What does the Lacey Act entail?
- What is considered “illegal” under the amended Lacey Act?
- What risks do buyers, traders and sellers of wood, paper and other forest products face if they violate the Lacey Act?
- What can companies do to avoid becoming the subject of a Lacey Act investigation?
- Does certification mean that a forest product is exempt or already in compliance with the amended Lacey Act?

The WRI says third-party forest certification is a good way to demonstrate to both government and customers that a company has taken proactive steps to eliminate illegal wood or plant material from its supply chain.

However, importers still must submit appropriate declaration information to Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of USDA or U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. The U.S. government is taking illegal logging seriously – as demonstrated in a high-profile raid of Gibson Guitar Corporation last fall – and companies in the United States and abroad must be in compliance.