Title 16ConservationRelease 119-73not60

§7621 Report

Title 16 › Chapter 95— ELIMINATE, NEUTRALIZE, AND DISRUPT WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING › Subchapter II— REPORT ON MAJOR WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING COUNTRIES › § 7621

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of State must send Congress a report listing every country the Secretary calls a "focus country" and every country called a "country of concern" (those terms are defined elsewhere). The first report was due no later than one year after October 7, 2016, and then a report must be sent every two years after that, with the report due by June 1 in years when one is required. At the same time as the first report filed after December 23, 2022, the Secretary, after working with the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce, must publish in the Federal Register a process for removing any country from the "country of concern" list if it no longer meets the definition in section 7601(4). These requirements end on September 30, 2028.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §7621

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Not later than one year after October 7, 2016, and biennially thereafter by June 1 of each year in which a report is required, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce, shall submit to Congress a report that lists each country determined by the Secretary of State to be a focus country within the meaning of this chapter.
(b)In each report required under subsection (a), the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce, shall also list each country determined by the Secretary of State to be a country of concern within the meaning of this chapter 11 So in original. Probably should be followed by a period.
(c)Concurrently with the first report required under this section and submitted after December 23, 2022, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce, shall publish in the Federal Register a procedure for removing from the list described in subsection (b) any country that no longer meets the definition of country of concern under section 7601(4) of this title.
(d)This section shall cease to have force or effect on September 30, 2028.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Termination of SectionFor termination of section on Sept. 30, 2028, see subsec. (d) of this section.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 114–231, Oct. 7, 2016, 130 Stat. 949, known as the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note under section 7601 of this title and Tables.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–263, § 5943(c)(1)(A), substituted “biennially thereafter by June 1 of each year in which a report is required” for “annually thereafter”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 117–263, § 5943(c)(1)(B), substituted “shall also list each country determined by the Secretary of State to be a country of concern within the meaning of this chapter” for “shall identify each country of concern listed in the report the government of which has actively engaged in or knowingly profited from the trafficking of endangered or threatened species.” Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 117–263, § 5943(c)(1)(C), added subsecs. (c) and (d) and struck out former subsec. (c). Prior to amendment, text of subsec. (c) read as follows: “This section shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after October 7, 2016.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 7621

Title 16Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60