Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2003

Re:	AGRICULTURE OCEAN TRANSPORTATION COALITION (AGOTC)

Dear NASA Member:

The United States has entered into an international agreement on import requirements for Solid Wood Packing Materials (SWPM). The objective of the participating governments was to develop a uniform standard to control pests in wood packaging material used in global trade. While participating governments would still have authority to implement more stringent standards, the hope is that there will be less need for individual SWPM requirements such as are in place for China, New Zealand, the EU, etc.

Under the new International standards, all SWPM must be marked with the international symbol indicating that it has been properly treated (i.e. either heat treated or fumigated). This symbol is currently being trademarked, but will be available shortly for use by the wooden pallet industry to indicate compliance with the new standard.

Effective Date
Many have asked when the standard takes effect, and how it will impact imports to and exports from the U.S. There is no date set yet for implementation of the new requirements here in the U.S. USDA expects that it could take effect in about a year's time (Fall 2004). Once in place, the requirement will apply to ALL IMPORTS into the United States, from any country. In other words, if product is shipped to the U.S., it will have to meet the international standard in order to gain admittance.

The standard will only apply to exports destined to countries which have a) signed onto the agreement and b) have implemented their own internal regulations mandating the new standard. Currently, no country has implemented the standards yet. The following countries are working towards this objective:

U.S., Canada and Mexico. We understand that the U.S., Canada and Mexico plan to implement the standard at the same time.

Australia and New Zealand are also beginning the process of developing the internal regulations needed to implement the standard.

Europe already has a SWPM policy in place that is very similar to the international standard. We have confirmed that SWPM that meets the international standard will also meet the EU standard.

China has a very different SWPM policy which requires paper certification -- not an identifying stamp of compliance. We understand that the U.S. and China are in discussions with objective of convincing the Chinese Government to accept the international standard in lieu of the current certification requirements.

In sum, the implementation of this new standard is at least 12-months away. Once implemented it will apply to all imports, and some exports. We will keep you advised of any developments -- particularly regarding other countries that may be implementing the standard.

 
Best regards,
The North American Shippers Association

Gregory N. Taylor
Manager