• IDENTIFICATION
• LEGAL CLUSTERS
• GEOGRAPHIC CLUSTERS
• TRADE CLUSTERS
• ENVIRONMENT CLUSTERS
• OTHER FACTORS

I. Identification

1. The Issue

  2. Description
            As international trade increases among the world, the new environmental issues constantly rise.  One of the biggest problems the U.S. had to deal with in recent years was non-native insect pest, the Asian longhorned beetle.  The Asian longhorned beetle is native to China and Hong Kong, and entered into the U.S. in the wood containers widely used for imports from those regions.  U.S. Department of Agriculture's division, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service estimates that 500 shipments between August, 1995 and March 1998 to be affected by a variety of pests that are threatening to forests; moreover as much as 95 percent of these findings were associated with solid wood packing material. The Asian longhorned beetle, which also arrived in solid wood packing material, is very harmful to the environment in the U.S. and must be eradicated in order to prevent losing more trees from our communities.
            The Asian longhorned beetle is deadly because it bores holes on tree's drain sap and prevent the tree from moving water from its roots up.[1]  According to APHIS, the white, worm-like immature beetles bore into tree trunks and branches.  When a wood gets infected, a sap would flow heavily.  The adult beetle is a large, bullet-shaped insect, shinny and coal black with white spots.  The beetle is about an inch long, and on its head are very long, horn-shaped antennae that are black with white strips.  APHIS reports that they dug holes in the bark that are half inch across or larger causing yellowing of leaves or dropping leaves unseasonably.                                                                                                                         .
            Since there is no safe way to destroy the bug today, the infected trees must be cut down and burned.  The beetle has been found to prefer hardwood and fruit trees such as red maple, sugar, silver, horse chestnut, poplar, willow, elm, mulberry, and black locust.[2]Those trees are loved by many people, giving them comfort and joy of seasons.  Many trees have been already cut off in many parts of the U.S. port cities; Hawthorn, LA; South Gate, CA; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Rochester, NY; martin Grove, IL; and some other port areas in the U.S.  The USA Today report on February 5, 1998 shows that the Asian longhorned beetle is already affecting people's living environment in Chicago.  As many as 500 trees were cut off by the city as part of its attempt to eradicate the Asian longhorned beetle.  The trees gave comfortable shade to the nearby houses, nests for birds, and playground for children around the area.  The city officials and neighbors are hoping that the remaining trees would not show the sign of infestation later on.  However, the research entomologist, Michael Smith, says that visual inspections usually detect only about 25 percent of the infected trees; moreover, the beetle infestation can spread for blocks over the course of one summer. [3] Many trees have been cut down not only in Chicago but also few palces in New York.   In both Chicago and New York, the beetle live so close to the populated areas that it may not be destroyed safely and completely without cutting down trees.  This indicates that there will be more trees cut off in many areas of the U.S.
            The eradication of the Asian longhorned beetle not only harm the environment but also distress the government financially and threatens the various tree product industries in the U.S.  In Chicago, the tree cutting necessitated the federal government about $3 million; in New York it necessitated the state and federal government over $5 million.[4]  In addition,  this bug has the potential to destroy a large part of tree product industries including paper, lumber, paperboard and wooden pallets.[5]
            In December 17, 1998, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched a regulation to ban the beetle.  There has been a regulation that wood pallets to be free of bark and live pests; however, USDA assumes that the evidence of bark and holes on the pallets were intentionally hidden.  The new regulation states that all solid wood packing material from China and Hong Kong must be accompanied by official certification issued by the government stating that the proper treatment was done to kill the pest before the shipment. [6]  Further, a message from the trade compliance division of the U.S. Customs Service stated that in cases the Chinese package goes through a third nation before coming into the U.S. ports, it must be accompanied by a certification from the exporter in that country.  The certification must address that there is no untreated Chinese solid wood in the shipment.[7] For the exporter who failed to compy with the regulation, the APHIS will issue warnings to first-time offenders. If offenders continue to violate the rule, APHIS will proswecute them. Under Federal law, APHIS can levy fines up to $1,000 per count.
            The proper treatment of solid wood packing includes heat treatment, fumigation, or treatment with preservatives.  According to the reports from National Wood Pallet and Container Association (NWPCA), the treatment must be performed in the facility in China which had complied with the regulation set by APHIS.  The aim of the treatment procedures are to reduce the humidity of the content to as low as 20 percent.  The fumigation will be treated with methyl bromide or some other fumigants such as phosphene.  methyl bromide has possible effects in depleting ozone.  Treatment with preservatives is an another alternative, and the chemicals such as creosote, and chlorpyritos to be applied to the surface of the wood.  Other than fumigation, heat treatment and use of preservatives, the manufactured wood such as oriented strand board and plywood will kill the Asian longhorned beetle in the manufacturing process.  Nevertheless, these alternatives still require to be accompanied by a certificate at the time of arrival to the U.S. ports.[8]  As another way to ban the entree of the pest, Fiber Box Association has been trying to introduce the use of corrugated packaging instead of wood packaging.  The president of the association states that corrugated packages are strong and cost-effective, and it cannot be damaged by the Asian longhorned beetle since the bug only infests wood.  Other than corrugated packaging, metal or plastic pallets can be used.
            Although, before the new regulation became official, there was concern that China may not follow the regulation, China seems to be getting with the program.  David starling, the APL Ltd's vice president for Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan, compliments USDA that it came up with a feasible regulation.  He states that most shippers are following the fumigation requirements which added a little expense but not much.  Further, according to Alan Y. Lee, Sea-Land Service Inc.'s general manager for Hong Kong and South China, says that the regulation is not difficult to comply with.  He predicts that shippers will simply stop the use of wooden pallets for other cost-effective alternatives.[9]
            However, some Chinese exporters and officials argue against the regulation imposed by the U.S.  Qin Hanchang, the economic and commercial consul at China's consulate in L.A., claims that although the bug was only found in a few kind of wood pallets, it is unreasonable that the U.S. requires all wood pallets to be treated.  He says that the treatment is very expensive.[10]  Some others believe that the regulation is trade discrimination against China in order to reduce China's increasing trade surplus with the U.S.[11]  Hong Kong considers the requirement as discriminatory and unfair since it also handle re-exports from China.  It also says that the requirement lacks the scientific evidence and U.S. is just being a protectionist.[12]
            The beetle ban regulation can affect a large number of Chinese exports to the U.S.  According to the report from USDA, in 1997 China's total exports of agricultural and non-agricultural products to the U.S. were $72.8 billion, which calculates to 8.4 percent of total U.S. imports.  It is estimated that about $12-$16 billion of imports from China would be affected by the regulation, which accounts for 17-22 percent of the total imports from China.[13] The regulation is a burden not only to the Chinese exporters but also to the U.S. shippers, who have to bear some of the costs of satisfying the regulation.
            The USDA is is considering to impose much stricter regulation that would encourage, or possibly mandate, the use of non-hardwood packaging for imports from China[14].  The agency would be more likely to take that step if members of Congress representing constituents whose trees have been cut down begin complaining about the regulation set forth in December 17, 1998.  The notice that was published in January 20, 1999 in the Federal Register seeks public comment on what actions would be more effective and appropriate to further reduce the insect pests affiliated with wood-packing materials.

3. Related Cases

1. Japan apple case

Japan had been refusing to import U.S. apples because of concern over pests such as coddling moth and fire blight. These pests may be brought into Japan with U.S. apples and give damage to Japanese apples. Japan opened its market to the U.S. apples as late as in 1995 after the U.S. implemented a regulation suggested by Japan.

2. Ballast Case

Zebra mussels, native to the Caspian Sea, was brought into lake St. Claire in the U.S. by a cargo ship. the empty ships usually take water as ballast and discharge it when arriving at the ships destination to make room for ship's cargo. Zebra mussel filter-feeding kill bottom-growing seaweed; also it filters out plankton, the major food source for fish and waterfowl. Further, Zebra mussel has endangered clam species.

3. Hawaii Animal Imports

Captain James Cook, who discovered Hawaii introduced a new specie, the feral pig. The feral pig carries a disease unknown to the native species. The disease is carried to native birds through mosquitoes. The feral pig has also endangered several native plants by eating nutrients that plants need. The feral pig as well as several other foreign species such as cats, rats, dogs, and mongooses contributed in endangering native Hawaiian animals.

 
Keyword Clusters

1) Bio-geography                                                     TEMPerate
2) Environmental Problem                                       DEFORestation
3) Forum                                                                    USA

II. Legal Clusters

5. Discourse and Status: Agreement and Completed

8. Legal Standing: U.S. law
 

III. Geographic Clusters

9. Geographic Locations

b. Geographic Site: Easia

c. Geographic Impact: China and Hong Kong
 

10. Sub-National Factors: No

11. Type of Habitat: Temperate
 

IV. Trade Clusters

12. Type of Measure: Import ban

13. Direct v. Indirect Impacts: Indirect
         This is a regulation to ban the beetle, and there is no direct impact on trade itself.
 

14. Relation of Trade Measure to Environmental Impact

b. Indirectly Related to Product: Yes

c. Not Related to Product: No

d. Related to Process: Yes
 

15. Trade Product Identification: Final product
 

16. Economic Data

17. Impact of Trade Restriction: Low

18. Industry Sector: Many sectors which exports products to the U.S.  Solid wood packaging are used for various products,             from agricultural products to machinery.

19. Exporters and Importers: Exporters: China and Hong Kong
                                                                            Importers: U.S.
 

V. Environment Clusters

20. Environmental Problem Type: Deforestation, Land
 

21. Name, Type, and Diversity of Species

Type: Hard wood and fruit trees

Diversity:
 

22. Resource Impact and Effect: High.  Many trees have been already cut down around the country.

23. Urgency and Lifetime: Urgent.  The infested trees must be cut down, and it takes as long as 10 years for the trees to fully grow.

24. Substitutes: New trees.  In Chicago, the U.S. forest Service will chip in $500,000 to plant new trees, probably saplings.
 

VI. Other Factors

25. Culture: N/A

26. Trans-Boundary Issues: N/A

27. Rights: N/A
 

28. Relevant Literature