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Both of your statements are false. Things slip through cracks, but there's an extensive amount of enforcement effort that goes into regulating and restricting e

Both of your statements are false. Things slip through cracks, but there's an extensive amount of enforcement effort that goes into regulating and restricting entry of plants into the US. Further, of course inbound international parcels are inspected [1]. As with any sort of border inspection, USPS and CBP rely on random samples and targeted efforts of limited scope. [1]https://www.uspsoig.gov/document/prohibited-inbound-international-mailings https://www.uspsoig.gov/document/prohibited-inbound-internat...

markdown 4y ago
There are more types of fruit trees in the US than in any other country. I'm active on fruit tree enthusiast forums where members buy seeds online from every corner of the world. They are never inspected. By comparison, I have to open every single package I import in front of a customs agent, and I live in a third world country. This is after they've been x-rayed by customs. I mean, just recently Americans all over the country were receiving seeds in the mail from overseas and your govt had to issue warnings. Such warnings would be unnecessary in my country because every package is inspected. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/03/mystery-seeds-mail-what-are-they-americans https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/03/mystery-seed... Millions upon millions of packages arrive into your country every week from Aliexpress and other foreign online marketplaces. None of these are inspected.
- sithadmin 4y ago
  Again, your statements are false. The fact that the majority of parcels aren't being individually inspected doesn't mean that none are inspected or that violators are absolutely immune to consequences. As implemented currently, US import inspections are designed to maximize throughput while catching the most flagrant violators. Extremely easy-to-smuggle items in low risk categories like seeds are obviously more often than not going to make their way past enforcement checkpoints under this arrangement.
  - markdown 4y ago
    Most ordinary human beings would agree that a parcel inspection rate closer to zero percent than 1% means that there is no inspection of parcels. I can pretty much guarantee that nobody in this HN discussion has ever had a parcel opened, nor knows anyone who has ever had that happen to them. I mean, there's an entire industry of buying prescription medicine online from India and other places, which simply wouldn't fly in any other country.

markdown 4y ago

There are more types of fruit trees in the US than in any other country. I'm active on fruit tree enthusiast forums where members buy seeds online from every corner of the world. They are never inspected. By comparison, I have to open every single package I import in front of a customs agent, and I live in a third world country. This is after they've been x-rayed by customs. I mean, just recently Americans all over the country were receiving seeds in the mail from overseas and your govt had to issue warnings. Such warnings would be unnecessary in my country because every package is inspected. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/03/mystery-seeds-mail-what-are-they-americans https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/03/mystery-seed... Millions upon millions of packages arrive into your country every week from Aliexpress and other foreign online marketplaces. None of these are inspected.

sithadmin 4y ago
Again, your statements are false. The fact that the majority of parcels aren't being individually inspected doesn't mean that none are inspected or that violators are absolutely immune to consequences. As implemented currently, US import inspections are designed to maximize throughput while catching the most flagrant violators. Extremely easy-to-smuggle items in low risk categories like seeds are obviously more often than not going to make their way past enforcement checkpoints under this arrangement.
- markdown 4y ago
  Most ordinary human beings would agree that a parcel inspection rate closer to zero percent than 1% means that there is no inspection of parcels. I can pretty much guarantee that nobody in this HN discussion has ever had a parcel opened, nor knows anyone who has ever had that happen to them. I mean, there's an entire industry of buying prescription medicine online from India and other places, which simply wouldn't fly in any other country.