restrictions on sending wood to the US of A

[hughie]

It seems as of this month if you live in Australia and possibly NZ you cannot send any wooden items into USA

International post guide

Before you send to United States from Australia, check our destination guide for any postal restrictions or special documentation requirements. Use our international postage calculator to check costs and delivery times.

auspost.com.au

But the funny thing if you go over the USPS web site and check out the regulations its not so specific, well unless I got it wrong. This is going to be a killer for many turners down under

 

[odie]

Hughie......would it be possible to ship your turnings to a destination in some other country, then forward it to the USA?

Burls from Australia have been a favorite of mine.....I wonder how this will effect my supply chain????

Come by ship, then UPS, Fedex????

-o-

 

[hughie]

Hughie......would it be possible to ship your turnings to a destination in some other country, then forward it to the USA?

Burls from Australia have been a favorite of mine.....I wonder how this will effect my supply chain????

Come by ship, then UPS, Fedex????

-o-

I dont think it matters how its sent as its customs regulation, maybe Canada but I have no contacts there

 

[hughie]

Odie, Maybe contact your supplier of burls as they way it reads there could no more burls. There seems to be room for wooden furniture but via a permit set up that includes CITES permits as well

 

[Dean Center]

From the practical side, the USPS can't deliver mail more than 4 days a week in our town, and sometimes stuff sits in the post office for days, rarely weeks, prior to getting delivered. There's no way they're going to police wooden bowls coming into the US from Australia. Maybe the US Department of Agriculture would care about bowl blanks. As long as there are no zebra mussels or predatory fish in the package, Odie, I'm pretty sure Montana won't care.

 

[Bill Boehme]

The concern is about insects and plant diseases that could completely destroy domestic trees. The emerald ash borer is just one example.

 

[hughie]

An update, well anecdotal at best, it seems if its marked 'art' and is 'finished' its maybe acceptable

 

[Sarah S Elkind]

The concern is about insects and plant diseases that could completely destroy domestic trees. The emerald ash borer is just one example.

I just want to amplify this. It’s so tempting to bring cool, beautiful wood back from travels. But also risky. Bark, wood with cavities which might have bugs, larvae, or fungus, etc can start a major pest outbreak. Be thoughtful and careful.

 

[Sam Fleisher]

When I was married to a Australian woman 20 years ago she liked to send packages home to her mom and sister. One time she sent a big box of X-mas decoration junk that she picked up at a dollar store or someplace like that because she was amazed how cheap it was and it wasn't readily available down there she said.
The decorations had some pine cones on like a garland or a wreath something like that.
Her mom got a letter from the australian customs office saying if she didn't pay some ridiculous fee that I can't remember to have it fumigated because it contained seeds (pine cones) it would be destroyed. Well, needless to say she told her mom to let them destroy it because the total cost was only 20-30 dollars. Funny part about it was the pine cones probably came from china in the first place.
When we got divorced I was going to ship her dog back with her but back then it was $1000 to ship the dog from there to here (no quarantine because no rabies in australia). It was going to cost the same to ship it back except there was a mandatory quarantine of 30 days at like $100 a day. Needless to say I was an extra large you know what for not shipping her dog back home. In honesty I did feel bad about it but $1000 shipping and $3000 boarding. let's be realistic.

 

[Anne Ogg]

I often bring or mail wood back from St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. As long as the bark is removed, I don't have any problems. I will add that my packages are almost always opened by customs, and sealed back up with their tape. Not sure at what point Customs intervenes, but I would guess they are on the island checking boxes before they leave. I routinely get my suitcases opened by Customs at the airport. Long answer for saying I suspect the checking is done at the origin, not at the destination.

 

[Peter D'Attomo]

As long as you can get a certificate that the wood has been treated, it's good to go

Q. What types of wood products need to be fumigated?
A . All tropical hardwood logs and lumber with bark are to be fumigated before importation into the United States.

Q. Are any wood products prohibited entry?
A . Yes. All logs, lumber, and other unmanufactured wood products, (with or without bark), are not authorized from areas in Asia that are east of 60 East Longitude and North of the Tropic of Cancer. However, kiln dried lumber and debarked logs that have been heat treated to 71.1 degrees Celsius, throughout the profile of the wood including the center, and maintained for a minimum of 75 minutes, are allowed entry with a written permit and proof of treatment.

Q. Are there any special conditions for wood products?
A . Yes. All raw softwood lumber, without bark, must be consigned to an approved facility operating under a valid compliance agreement with Plant Protection and Quarantine at the time the lumber is imported. Lumber must be heat treated within 30 days from the time the lumber is released from the port of first arrival.

The only softwood logs allowed entry are Pinus radiata and Pseudotsuga menziesii from New Zealand, and Pinus radiata from Chile. Shipments must also be consigned to an approved facility operating under a valid compliance agreement with Plant Protection and Quarantine at the time the logs are imported and be heat treated within 30 days.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

@Peter D'Attomo , good info. What was your source?

 

[Bill Boehme]

@Peter D'Attomo , good info. What was your source?

US Department of Agriculture website:

Timber or Timber Products​

• FAQs
• Import Requirements

 

[odie]

@Bill Boehme ......when did these requirements originally go into effect? I see the FAQ was last modified in 2022, but that doesn't tell us when the requirements were first initiated. Looks like some of my favorite imported woods have to be treated, but it doesn't say they can't be imported. Maybe this has something to do with how expensive they have always been.....

-o-

 

[hughie]

This is interesting,
Q. Can companies outside the United States apply for a permit?
A. No. We only issue permits to U.S. companies with valid U.S. street addresses.
and

Q. How much does the permit cost?
A. At this time, there is no fee. In the future there may be charges for all import permits.​

So its out of my hands, in my case its the gallery who must have the necessary permits

 

[Bill Boehme]

@Bill Boehme ......when did these requirements originally go into effect? I see the FAQ was last modified in 2022, but that doesn't tell us when the requirements were first initiated. Looks like some of my favorite imported woods have to be treated, but it doesn't say they can't be imported. Maybe this has something to do with how expensive they have always been.....

-o-

At various times. Some in the last few years and some decades ago. However, I think that unless you can do time traveling it's probably a moot question.

 

[odie]

At various times. Some in the last few years and some decades ago. However, I think that unless you can do time traveling it's probably a moot question.

It's a question that remains unanswered at present time. I'm not seeing any evidence here, or elsewhere, that anything has changed recently to effect the importation of burls and exotic woods. I was unaware of the fumigation requirements, but that may be nothing new.....but it will somewhat explain the exorbitantly high prices some of these woods have on the open market....

-o-

 

[Adrian Wilson]

Doesn't relate to NZ and Australia, but I have a friend (now deceased) who owned an exotic wood company here in Canada. He bought up quite a big supply of thuya burls, sourced in North Africa. Then he found out he couldn't sell them into the US, because they are temperate climates..... bugs that could live in North Africa could live in the US. Look at the lines of latitude and parts of both places line up on the same lines. First time I had heard that usage of the words 'temperate climate'. I remember when the heat treatment rules came in; they were fine for construction grade softwood, but they destroyed quality hardwoods. There was a big race to determine kiln schedules that hardwoods could survive but still meet the requirement; I'm out of that part of the industry now, not sure where it all stands. Heat treatment would, I think, destroy raw blanks to be used for turning. Maybe fumigation works, I don't know. I know museum conservation departments sometimes use flash freeze-drying to kill bugs.