The 2008 Farm Bill (the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008), effective May 22, 2008, amended the Lacey Act and extended its protections to a broad range of plants and plant products, making it unlawful to import into the United States any plant or plant product that was illegally harvested. It also makes it unlawful to import certain products without a declaration.
APHIS, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administer the Lacey Act. APHIS is responsible for collecting declarations for imported plants and plant products, and defining the scope of plant materials that require a declaration; see Do I Need a Lacey Act Declaration?
APHIS established through rulemaking a schedule for implementing the declaration requirement. Phases 1, 2, and 3 went into effect in 2009; phase 4 in 2010; phase 5 in 2015; and phase 6 went in 2021. Lacey Act Phase VII Declaration Implementation will go into effect on December 1, 2024.