intro and briar importation

[wisemanpipes]

hello all,
my name is evan wiseman and im from canada. im new to the forum as a participant but have been actively reading the recent posts. ive been making pipes for friend and small requests for under a year. im far from decent, but decided to join the forum as a member to participate and ask question to further my craft. I have a question though.

im ordering a large (to me) briar shipment from either mimmo or samantha (ebay seller) of 60 plateau and 20 ebauchon. under canada importation restrictions it blocks the importation of barked wood. the plateau has bark and im wondering if i need a permit to save my wood from being destroyed. im looking ahead and dont want to be hung to dry. Is this order to small to be concerned, or should i send the CBA my documentation. regardless i hope it works out and i get all my wood. if anyone else had this problem let me know.

again nice to be apart of the site and hope to chat with you guys in chicago

evan

[Tyler]

In my last order from Mimmo all the bark was removed. I think that's his standard practice now for the reason you state.

[Sasquatch]

Evan, I'd love to tell you that there is one set of rules and that it's enforced with absolute uniformity. This is not the case.

I've had briar zip through customs - big boxes unscathed. I've had briar stopped by customs, declared a "casual import" and stickered, tied, and taxed. But it came. I got an email from a Spanish supplier who had briar basically frozen at the border, and I know this happened to Michael Parks when he ordered a big batch - it didn't come with the phytosanitary certificate, and he had to get a bunch of stuff signed and faxed etc to get it released.

The govt guys are presumably helpful, but you have to register with them, and that requires a GST number in the first place. I have never done so, it's never caused me any issues. But I've never brought in 50 blocks at once either.

To be safe, I would go through their procedure, get your paperwork squared away, find out just what they want to see, who you flash it at, etc. Then if the wood comes in clean, no worries, and if it gets stopped, you have your ducks in a row and are prepared to handle things in a non-emergency fashion. Basically, what you want is a declaration that the wood has been heat treated, contains no seeds, no bugs, that kind of thing. A phytosanitary report. I don't know if there's an official form to be filled out for the customs guys, or if a letter from the cutter is enough.

Mimmo scraping the bark certainly doesn't hurt.

[Tyler]

Mimmo also provides the fancy paper work declaring it dead- and bug- and bark-free.

He also uses FedEx, which for the US has its own customs situation that is predictable and efficient. No idea on Canada.

P.S. I am not trying to talk you into Mimmo, just saying he has done his homework.

[Sasquatch]

As far as what I got from Mimmo, it was sort of a "home made" certificate - I have the same from Makis.

If the govt gets involved, it looks like they want a proper NPPO certificate from the sending country - this involves an inspection by their Plant Protection Organization representative on the other end.

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/plants/plan ... 2384324372

So here's the Greek end of that, for example:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/plants/plan ... 2384324372

and a more comprehensive list:

http://www.ippc.int/file_uploaded/12645 ... y_2010.pdf

[Vermont Freehand]

I ship the Algerian briar with the bark still on it, to over 30 different countries with no problems at all.

I enclose a USDA clearence letter which states that the wood does not require a phytosanitary certificate nor other forms.

International orders I send 15 blocks at a time, so 60 blocks would be in 4 boxes shipped on different days. This makes it much easier for customs. The bigger the box, the more paperwork you will need.

When I import briar to the US by the pallet load, all I have is a timber importing permit and the USDA letter mentioned above is also sent from Algeria with no problems. I have also done this with Greece and Italy with no problems.

The only problem I've ever had with Italy is having to pay an additional fee after customs gets their hands on it.

Not sure about Canada's rules and regulations, but my method has worked many many times flawlessly.

[wisemanpipes]

Mimmo also provides the fancy paper work declaring it dead- and bug- and bark-free.

He also uses FedEx, which for the US has its own customs situation that is predictable and efficient. No idea on Canada.

P.S. I am not trying to talk you into Mimmo, just saying he has done his homework.

definitley not talking me into mimmo, his blocks look great and that extra work shows his dedication.

I ship the Algerian briar with the bark still on it, to over 30 different countries with no problems at all.

I enclose a USDA clearence letter which states that the wood does not require a phytosanitary certificate nor other forms.

International orders I send 15 blocks at a time, so 60 blocks would be in 4 boxes shipped on different days. This makes it much easier for customs. The bigger the box, the more paperwork you will need.

Not sure about Canada's rules and regulations, but my method has worked many many times flawlessly.

thanks steve for the welcome and the info, its great to have info from a large importer. i think ill ask mimmo if he can split it up.

I got an email from a Spanish supplier who had briar basically frozen at the border, and I know this happened to Michael Parks when he ordered a big batch - it didn't come with the phytosanitary certificate, and he had to get a bunch of stuff signed and faxed etc to get it released.

thanks sas,
very informative also. I visited Michael last weekend at his house and we started to talk about it but, all he really said was that they froze it at the border and had orders to destroy it and he faxed them some stuff, pulled some strings and got it home finally. Regardless, i think i might do mimmo for the plateaux and then samantha for the eb. with such a large order for a hobbiest with no money to lose, it worries me still. id rather be safe than sorry and 'GET ALL MY DUCKS IN A ROW".

thanks gents for your help
evan

[Tyler]

I'm feeling like a Mimmo homer now, but I'll jump and and comment about him again. My last order from him was just shy of 100 blocks. It all came at once. No problem.

[Sasquatch]

I just talked to Makis too, and he said he can issue certificates, that he gets huge orders into the USA all the time with no problem at all.