import restrictions on wooden christmas trees in june 2006 china expressed concerns regarding the us decision to sto the importation of artificial christmas trees from china although only one enterprise had violated the quarantine treatment requirement which had resulted in the detection of live long-horn beetles in its consignment. this exceptional incident did not indicate a defect of the whole chinese system. the strict measure taken by the united states did not respect the wto rules on minimizing the impact on trade and had caused great losses for chinese enterprises and had also affected the us christmas tree market. furthermore there was an undue delay in the way the issue was dealt with by the united states. the chinese government had spared no effort to take corrective measures regarding the whole system including the enhancement of supervision of the quarantine and inspection system and receiving us inspectors in several provinces in february 2006. although the experts had indicated their satisfaction with the improvements no formal response had been received from the united states. the united states replied that between 22 february 2002 and 22 october 2005 during routine 2 percent inspections at us ports of entry the united states had intercepted quarantine significant pests on wood handicraft products shipped from china 418 times including on artificial christmas trees trellis towers other home and garden wood decor and craft items. these interceptions had not abated. the plant quarantine authorities of the united states and china had maintained an on-going dialogue regarding such interceptions. this wood boring pest was closely related to the asian longhorned beetle which had been introduced into the united states in shipments of wood packing material from china and was now being eradicated in chicago and new york. the united states had spent in excess of us 200 million on its ongoing eradication effort. although the united states had requested china to provide an action plan to address the infestations no response had been received. on 1 april 2005 the united states had adopted emergency measures to suspend the importation of wood handicraft items from china including artificial christmas trees that contained wooden logs limbs branches or twigs greater than one centimetre in diameter and with intact bark. manufactured items that had been heat treated or fumigated with methyl bromide and had 100 percent of the bark removed were not subject to the import suspension so the us measure was no more trade-restrictive than necessary. when its assessment of the risk of continued introduction of quarantine pests on manufactured wood commodities from china was completed this would be shared with chinas plant quarantine authorities. in october 2006 china reported that although some progress had been made following bilateral consultations it was still concerned that the restrictions imposed by the united states were disproportionate and not necessary. although imports of manufactured items which had been heat treated or fumigated with methyl bromide were permitted no information was provided to china since the united states had detected beetles in wooden trees. china requested details of the enterprises that failed to meet the us quarantine requirements. china had adopted ippc standards to treat the wooden handicrafts and therefore expected the united states to accept the christmas trees or to identify alternative procedures so that chinese enterprises knew how to meet the us requirements. the united states indicated that the measures imposed on the importation of certain manufactured wood items including artificial christmas trees with bark attached from china were imposed after no response was received for a requested plan of action to address the issue. manufactured wood items that were heat treated or fumigated with methyl bromide and that had their bark removed were not subject to the import restriction. progress had b