Hello, For what it's worth, when I would go to England on plant buying procurements, I always had the English Inspector canvass the plants I purchased, after meticulously washing the soil from rootballs, packing in vermiculite, and labeling. I paid the fee requested. With objection from the English Inspector , he already knew when the plants reached American soil, his work would be ignored, as though his inspection would be worthless. It was. When I reached Seatac Airport, I declared the plants and they dissappeared for 4-5 days for further inspection . No problem. Aphis had their own criterion, and importers must adhere. I did, knowing all the while that every day the plants were in USDA hands, the more likely they wouldn't survive the torture they had undergone in preparation to be admitted to their new environment. Luckily, I knew how to handle the plants under such stress, and I would lose only around 20% of what I imported. Special permits for ,,, say,,, Dianthus and Chrysanthemums required on site inspections , to which I gladly complied. After further importations, I no longer requested English inspections, as we all knew , it was worthless . What a terrible shame countries don't co-operate, as the English inspector told me they were extremely concerned about the various problems that could occur from moving plants from country to country. At least, for developed countries, they could agree on what the issues /problems could be , and help each other accordingly, as well as TRUST each other's qualifications. Part of it is just a matter of communicating to each other. I stopped importing. It became too expensive,disheartening, and discouraging. When one reviews a foreign plant/seed list , knowing the nursery will not ship to our continent, you have to accept the limitations, and,,, pretty much sulk at being a gardener/ plant enthusiast on the wrong continent. You read , and see whats available elsewhere versus what we have here and it's pretty sad. In the 21st century, you'd think such limitations would've been overcome, but that is naive. I can't imagine their is any plant/ bulb enthusiast here who hasn't balked at a list/ catalogue, knowing full well what you see read can only be a dream. I can't help wondering if some type of Plant Importing certification to qualified individuals who have undergone USDA scrutiny would make sense of the issue. You know, sort of like acquiring a pesticide applicators license. A course, and certification leading to eased restrictions to those qualified. Preventing diseases and pests are extremely important.... but, their's GOT to be a way. Rick K