The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has regulatory authority over certain plant and animal species which are imported and exported into the United States. Some declarations are a notification to the agency of what is being shipped – others are accompanied by permits for shipments that contain endangered species and require the approval of the exporting country.
The agency has a number of FOIA requests pending before it and have announced that they will meet their obligations under these FOIA requests by releasing data – including potentially commercially sensitive data – unless they receive a request for redaction by close of business Friday, June 11th.
The period of data that the agency has been requested to provide is calendar year 1999 and from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2020 and the information is from their Law Enforcement Management Information System, or LEMIS.
According to law firm GDLSK, the sensitive data that is subject to disclosure includes:
- U.S. importer name, address, contact information
- U.S. exporter name, address, contact information
- Foreign shipper name, address, contact information
- Customs Broker name/ address, contact information
- Shipping information (Bill of Lading & Air Waybill numbers and related information).
- CITES permit numbers
- Shipment/species origin
- Merchandise quantity and value
We at Sobel Network Shipping have a number of clients whose shipments fall under the agency’s jurisdiction and feel strongly that the confidentiality we are obligated to maintain as a customs broker holding a power of attorney should not be made public.
If your company is interested in notifying the agency that your information should not be made public, contact our VP Kelly Morrison for more details.
