Suggestion: Watch the 15 minutes video tutorial before reading this article
Planning or import wooden or bamboo products to the United States? In this guide, we explain what you must know about permits, fumigation, APHIS regulations and markings.
Covered Products
- Wooden Handicrafts
- Wooden Furniture
- Bamboo Products
- Wooden Packaging Materials
- Fumigation and Heat Treatment Requirements
- Other regulations
Wooden Handicrafts
For the wooden handicrafts products, it is regulated by the animal and plant health inspection service (APHIS) in the united states, and the scope of wooden handicrafts products including the example below:
- Baskets
- Birdhouse
- Boxes
- Picture frames
- Pencils
- Wooden furniture
- Other items composed of wood
Approved Ruppliers
The first step for importing wooden handicraft products from China is to check the APHIS list of approved wooden handicraft manufacturers.
Note that manufacturers are not considered approved until they have been added to the list. The list is maintained by the government of China as part of an agreement with the U.S.
- Guangzhou Nanfang furniture Co.,Ltd
- GL plastic goods MFG Co.Ltd
- Crownwell (Heyuan) Co.Ltd
- Gaoyao Lianrun arts & crafts Co.Ltd
Facility Requirements
The approved manufacturers produce wooden handicrafts according to specifications which have been agreed by the U.S and China. These products are designed to eliminate the presence of pests in their products. Also, it indicated that the manufacturers have met with the following requirements:
- Heat treatment to the wooden handicraft product
- The production area is neat and clean
- Quarantine treatment to the wooden handicraft product
- Quality management such as pest control and traceability system
Pre-Import Approvals
Once you have confirmed if the supplier is on the APHIS list, you may proceed to the ePermits website and apply for an import permit.
To access ePermits, you must have a USDA eAuthentication account and it can be registered online. You will also need to provide some general information for the application of the permit.
- Product category
- The registered number of the manufacturer
- Personal contact
- Quantity of goods
It takes approximately 30 days to receive the permit and you can keep track of the application status online.
The permit indicates the type of treatment the wood requires. Also if the wood component comes from either natural or planted forest stands, you will also need to fill out the declarations form for information such as:
- Tree’s scientific name
- Country of harvest
- Value
- Description
Continue reading Wood & Bamboo Product Regulations in the United States: A Complete Guide
