Whenever, in order to prevent the introduction into the United States of any tree, plant, or fruit disease or of any injurious insect, new to or not theretofore widely prevalent or distributed within and throughout the United States, the Secretary of Agriculture shall determine that it is necessary to forbid the importation into the United States of any class of nursery stock or of any other class of plants, fruits, vegetables, roots, bulbs, seeds, or other plant products from a country or locality where such disease or insect infestation exists, he shall promulgate such determination, specifying the country and locality and the class of nursery stock or other class of plants, fruits, vegetables, roots, bulbs, seeds, or other plant products which, in his opinion, should be excluded. Following the promulgation of such determination by the Secretary of Agriculture, and until the withdrawal of the said promulgation by him, the importation of the class of nursery stock or of other class of plants, fruits, vegetables, roots, bulbs, seeds, or other plant products specified in the said promulgation from the country and locality therein named, regardless of the use for which the same is intended, is hereby prohibited; and until the withdrawal of the said promulgation by the Secretary of Agriculture, and notwithstanding that such class of nursery stock, or other class of plants, fruits, vegetables, roots, bulbs, seeds, or other plant products be accompanied by a certificate of inspection from the country of importation, no person shall import or offer for entry into the United States from any country or locality specified in such promulgation, any of the class of nursery stock or of other class of plants, fruits, vegetables, roots, bulbs, seeds, or other plant products named therein, regardless of the use for which the same is intended: Provided, That the quarantine provisions of this section, as applying to the white-pine blister rust, potato wart, and the Mediterranean fruit fly, shall become and be effective on August 20, 1912.
(Aug. 20, 1912, ch. 308, §7, 37 Stat. 317; Pub. L. 97–432, §1(2), Jan. 8, 1983, 96 Stat. 2276.)
1983—Pub. L. 97–432 struck out provision directing Secretary to hold a hearing before promulgating a determination of necessity of forbidding importation.
Section effective Oct. 1, 1912, see note set out under section 151 of this title.
Importation for scientific purposes permitted, see section 155 of this title.
This section is referred to in section 155 of this title.