Amazon bans foreign sales of seeds in America

 

The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon has banned foreign sales of seeds in the United States after sending mysterious, unwanted shipments to Americans, mostly with postal labels from China.

The retail giant's policy on plant products and seeds, updated on September 2, prohibits foreign sales of seeds imported from outside the United States or sold by non-residents.

The new policy extends to both plants and plant products, and Amazon said in a statement: We are henceforth allowing only US-based sellers to sell seeds.

The company can take action against the accounts of sellers who do not adhere to its policies, including cancellations, suspensions or confiscation of payments, or preventing them from selling through the site, and it is not clear whether the foreign sales of seeds will extend to other countries.

Amazon's new policy comes after the US Department of Agriculture issued warnings to all 50 states in July, after mysterious shipments of foreign seeds were sent to households in the United States with postal tags from China.

Some of the packages were mislabeled, with specification that they contain jewelry or beads, even though they only contain a transparent plastic package of seeds.

Although it remains unclear who is sending the seed shipments or why, the USDA states that it believes the unwanted shipments are part of a scam.

In a July statement, the USDA said: We currently have no evidence to suggest this is something other than a fraud, as people receive unwanted items from a vendor who then posts false reviews from customers to increase sales.

The federal agency stated that it is intensifying its participation with e-commerce companies; To ensure compliance with USDA regulations.

Since then, several agencies have investigated the situation, including the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, the US Postal Service, and state agriculture departments.

Agriculture officials have warned those receiving the packages not to grow them. Because unknown seeds may damage gardens, farms and the environment.

The US Department of Agriculture is working with China to investigate the mass shipment of seeds and how to stop future unwanted imports, while the Chinese authorities said: The postal labels are not original.