Did you post this on the Seed Exchange forum? This document - Canada-US Grain and Seed Trade Guidelines makes it sound rather complex with documents required.

Dave

"Did you post this on the Seed Exchange forum?"
No sorry, wrong forum.
" This document - Canada-US Grain and Seed Trade Guidelines makes it sound rather complex with documents required."

You're right. That looks like a can full of Pandora's worm boxes. Hard to see how it applies to me buying seed from Territorial etc. - nobody expects me to sign import forms etc. Ah, well ,,,,,

That document is mainly for professional growers and it has a strong focus on grain (wheat, barley etc.) Gardeners in the USA must officially have a Small Lots Of Seed Permit if they want to import seeds from abroad. Don't know what the requirements are for people living in Canada.

I believe that the phrase "within a single country" was also in the old GardenWeb guidelines.

Small Lots Of Seed Permit

Thanks all for the info & corrections.

When I bought seeds at Butchart Gardens in Victoria, Canada they put a special label on the packets so I could legally bring them into the US.

question: are we legally allowed to trade a few packs of seeds to each other between the two countries.

gro2can - I think that is answered in the info and the links posted above. "Legally? No. Not without filing the proper paperwork. It is done at your own risk. The responsibility for being 'legal' rests with the sender/shipper.

Dave

these seed rules should not apply to individual traders since most of the seeds in our countries were illegally brought in years ago. many people are trading seeds they acquire on trips to other countries

That is something you will have to take up with your government. But please understand that they have some very valid rules for their restrictions and that those bringing in seeds from other countries are not doing your country's ecology any favors. Imports often bring in invasive plants, non-native pests that then cannot be controlled, and diseases. A good example of this is those who trade tomato seeds with southern US seed savers where a few of the seed-borne viral diseases are common but that do not yet exist in Canada. Canada (like the US) already has several European-oriented invasive plant issues they are fighting so why risk increasing the problems.

Dave

Having lived in Canada and the US, these are the rules - the restrictive issue is for US residents, not Canadians.

The only restriction in Canada is importing tree seeds - there are no issues receiving seeds from anywhere in the world provided they are not tree seeds. The US is far more restrictive and you need to obtain Small lot of seeds permit - which is a hassle if you want to import seeds from other countries.

I believe the reason Gardenweb stopped their original policy has to do with restrictions that were imposed in 2002 by the US government - prior to that, it was possible to import seeds. If the seeds are found either randomly by customs or the US Post office, they will throw them away and send you a letter with a warning of fines. I would not risk it at all - not worth getting a fine.

Thanks for the information, marilenav1

It's interesting but maybe confusing. As a Canadian sending seed south, for me the worst that can happen is it will be confiscated; The Canadian gov't isn't going to fine me and the US can't. Maybe they can fine the intended or actual US recipient - but what if the seed is an unsolicited gift?

On the other hand US citizens can send seed out of the country freely without sanction, and the Canadian authorities have no incoming restrictions other than tree seed.

Have I got that right?

If you click on the link at the end of this post it will take you to the Canadian Govt. site for seed importation and the table of seeds for import and their sizes. I have coppied the following. It looks like small seed lots are allowed in Canada, importing to the US is a problem.

website----- http://www.inspection.gc.ca/plants/seeds/imports/abcs-of-importation/eng/1347740952226/1347741389113#y

Thanks for the link, ubro. For gardeners bringing seed into Canada, the appropriate clause indeed says:

"Where the imported seed lot is 5 kg or less for large seeded crop kinds (such as peas, wheat, soybeans and corn) or is 500 g
or less for small seeded crop kinds (such as alfalfa, tomato or
canola), neither the import declaration information nor the seed
analysis certificate need be supplied"

For home gardeners those would be pretty generous limits. More than a pound of lettuce seed: Phew!!

Vanisle_BC - That information you understood is correct. it's doubtful that the US and Canadian governments would fine you. However, the American recipient could be fined. And who in their right mind would want to trade seed under those conditions? If I had sent seeds to Canada and in return, the seeds the Canadian trader sent me were confiscated with perhaps a threat of a fine from the USDA, I would be furious.

It is a very serious issue which my daughter experienced. She was living in the US and had purchased a home. At the time, I had a wholesale production nursery in Canada and she needed plants so she visited me and prior to her arrival, I had the Canadian government prepare a phytosanitary certificate as she was bringing back plants and seeds. My daughter added a few extra plants not listed on the phytosanitary certificate and put them in her vehicle. At the border, the customs agents went through every single pack of seed and every plant. They found the plants that weren't listed and confiscated them. Then they put her and her husband on a list of people know as 'Agricultural Threats'. Every single time she visited Canada for over 2 years and returned to the US, her vehicle was pulled over and she was detained for hours. She was lucky as she did not receive a fine.

Although this website is international, the vast majority of people posting here are Americans. I believe that this is the reason they stopped the trading altogether and I highly doubt that they will ever allow for international seed trading again given the current USDA requirements.

As I said, I've lived in both countries and although there is an 'imaginary' border between the two countries, the two governments are vastly different.