Issue 247, February 11, 2000
As of January 1st, there are new rules regarding SWPM (Solid Wood Packing Materials) sent to China. The Chinese government has directed that all shipments must have certification as to the SWPM in the shipment, or certification as to the lack of SWPM present in the shipment.

Every shipment MUST have one of three certificates/statements in order to clear Customs in China. Two of these certifications are done by the shipper themselves, while the third must be on the official U.S.D.A. (United States Department of Agriculture) Form 553.

1) Shipments that contain no SWPM must have a statement on the commercial invoice and/or the bill of lading indicating that there is no SWPM in the shipment. The U.S.D.A. has recommended that a separate document be created by the shipper stating this because Chinese Customs has been trained to look for this separate document instead of finding the phrase on the other shipping documents.

2) Shipments that have SWPM that are made with non-coniferous wood (coniferous wood is soft wood from cone bearing trees such as Pine, Fir, etc.) need to have a statement on the commercial invoice and/or the bill of lading that states this also. This statement is created by the shipper and, as mentioned above, a separate document would be advisable.

3) Shipments that use coniferous SWPM must have the official U.S.D.A. Form 553 document forwarded with the other commercial documents in order to clear Chinese Customs. This document is signed by the shipper and attests to the fact that the SWPM has been heat treated. The shipper does not need to provide documentation to the U.S.D.A. in order to get their counter signature and official stamp. The U.S.D.A. allows the shipper to keep these records themselves and will potentially audit this. The shipper is required to keep the evidence/documentation regarding the heat treatment of the wood for a period of one year.

The U.S.D.A. Form 553 can be downloaded from the U.S.D.A. website (www.aphis.usda.gov/). This website also has additional information regarding questions and answers, as well as suggested formats for the non-wood and non-coniferous wood shipper self-declarations.

Our contributing writer, Ken Hughes, is the Corporate Manager of Export Compliance for AEI. Mr. Hughes can be reached in our Chicago office at 847-233-7923.

Please note that due to the complex nature of the subject matter, AEI cannot be responsible for actions taken by the reader in reliance on the information contained herein without prior consultation with AEI.