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ISPM-15
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What to expect from an inspection
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List of country codes
Trade requirements
Information on pests
Are you or your customer shipping wood packaging material overseas and you are unsure of the importing country's phytosanitary and trade requirements?
Here are some resources that could help you:
Canada Wood has launched a website with phytosanitary guidelines for Canadian exporters of Canadian forest products. Click here for more information.
The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) website has a database of all countries who are signatories of this convention. Each country has provided legislation, contact information, and pest reports. For EU legislation on wood packaging materials used for transport (including dunnage), click here.
If you cannot find the information you were looking for by consulting the IPPC website, visit the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's site where you can look up contact information for the importing country's diplomatic and/or trade representatives. This database is updated daily.
You can also contact the local office of the CFIA if you have any further questions about exporting wood packaging material.
Shipping to the US
For information on the United States' import requirements for wood packaging material, visit the APHIS website. A CFIA memo dated April 1, 2013 states that:
Please note that wood packaging (W.P.) used in the transport of goods to the United States (U.S.) from Canada may be inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to verify that it either complies with the requirements of ISPM 15 or is eligible under the Canada-U.S. exemption from ISPM 15.
All shipments of goods with wood packaging to be exported to
the U.S. must meet the following W.P. requirements:
1. The W.P. must be free of live pests, weed seeds and soil;
2. The W.P. must have been produced from wood that originates from either Canada or the U.S and the accompanying export/shipping documents must clearly state that any unmarked wood packaging in the shipment was produced in either the U.S. and/or Canada (as the case may be). Note: the obliteration of any markings on the wood may be considered as removing marks which identify the wood as having an origin other than Canada and the U.S. and may result in U.S. authorities considering the wood as non-compliant.
AND/OR,
3. The W.P. is identified with legible ISPM 15 marks. Reused repaired wood packaging should be marked in accordance with the Canadian Wood Packaging Certification Program (Policy Directive D-01-05) (consult http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/plaveg/for/cwpc/appe.shtml)
In the case where shipments may consist of units of wood packaging of differing origins (e.g. mixed loads), the exporter must ensure that all the wood packaging clearly meets the standards above (e.g. within the mixed shipment, the unmarked wood packaging is identified as being produced in Canada or the U.S. on shipping documentation and ISPM 15 marks appear on any re-used offshore wood packaging).
To view the memo, click here.
Requests for extra documentation
Remember that ISPM 15 was designed to be a paperless process. The IPPC stamp acts as a passport for your shipment. It is considered a legal document and proof that the pallet, crate, box, drum, skid, container, basket, barrel, etc meets the international ISPM 15 standards. Without this mark (or a phytosanitary certificate), your shipment likely will be denied at the port of entry.
In the event that your importer requests additional proof, send a copy of your WPM supplier's certificate of registration into the HT Program and the link to the list of registered participants.
NOTE: If the importing customs officials are demanding the documentation, the CFIA should be informed as the request could constitute a violation of the international agreement.
NOTE: Some countries have import requirements that exceed the ISPM 15 mark. (Australia is an example of this).
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