Every series needs one rule that is easy to overlook until a container is held. For wood products going to the United States, that rule is the Lacey Act declaration — and Thailand and Vietnam, two of the largest furniture suppliers to the US market, are exactly where it goes wrong.
The rule in one paragraph
Since the 2008 amendments, it is unlawful to import plants or plant products into the US that were harvested or traded in violation of the laws of the country of harvest. Importers of a long list of wood products — furniture under HTS 9403 included — must file a declaration stating, for each wood component, the scientific name of the species, the country of harvest, the quantity and the value. The filing is made with the entry, not after release.
Why it catches furniture specifically
- A chair is not one wood: frame, legs, back, seat and veneer can be four or five species from three countries.
- Engineered panels hide the origin: an MDF board pressed in Vietnam may be made from plantation fibre, from imported chips, or from both.
- Suppliers answer "rubberwood" or "acacia" — a trade name, not a scientific name, and not what the form asks for.
A Thai case, anonymised
A rubberwood dining set out of Laem Chabang was declared as "rubberwood, Thailand". The entry was held because the species field carried a trade name. The mill's own purchase records gave Hevea brasiliensis and a Thai harvest province in an afternoon — the information existed, it had simply never been asked for at the point of order.
A Vietnamese case, anonymised
An outdoor furniture factory in Binh Duong used Vietnamese acacia for the frames and imported plywood for the seat panels. The declaration named acacia and Vietnam for the whole item. The panel's wood came from elsewhere, and the harvest country on the form was wrong for that component. The fix was not a fine but a week of storage while the supplier traced the plywood back to its mill.
What the declaration actually asks for
- Scientific name — genus and species. A trade name is not enough; "unknown" is accepted but invites questions.
- Country of harvest — where the tree was felled, not where the furniture was assembled.
- Quantity and unit, and the value of the wood content.
- HTS code and product description matching the entry.
The file to keep at the factory
- A bill of materials that lists every wood component and its species.
- A supplier letter per component: species, harvest country, mill or concession, and the date.
- Legality evidence where it exists — harvest permits, chain-of-custody or FSC/PEFC certificates. Certification supports due care; it does not replace the declaration.
- ISPM 15 marks on pallets, which is a separate requirement from Lacey and is checked separately.
Three practical points
- Collect species and harvest country at order confirmation, not at booking. It is a purchasing question, not a shipping one.
- For mixed components, declare per component; one line for the whole item is where mistakes start.
- Keep the file for five years. Penalties for a false declaration are civil, can include forfeiture, and become criminal when the error is knowing.
If you ship furniture or wood products from Thailand or Vietnam, send us the bill of materials and the supplier letters before the first booking. We will check the species and harvest country against the entry, so the declaration is filed once and correctly.