you do realize that every piece of teak in your house.. whether a decorative box, or a dining room table.. came from Africa right? Africa is where it is grown.. it is all imported... (as is the spanish cedar in your humidor)..
before it gets put on a palate, loaded on a boat, and set next to a thousand other things ranging from kenyan coffee to to tanzanian ebony to ugandan rubber products, and then delivered to your local retailers.. nothing special is done to it shy of kiln drying (or alternatively a chemical process can be done, but this is rately the case in africa due to cost).. it is then simply loaded as either a raw product (boards, etc..) or as a finished product (boxes, or other decorative things)..
Im not talking about chopping down a tree with insects crawling all over fresh leaves.. and trying to put it in my check bags..
Im talking about picking up a couple of boards..
The FDA and USDA regulate bringing back agricultural and food products.. to included live plants.. they do not regulate bringing back wood (as an individual board)... the risk of insects, fungus, bacteria, etc in teak .. that are harmful to our ecology is almost zero..
USDA only regulates and requires licenses for import of wood in bulk... (something coming over on ships, planes, etc..).. there is no regulation that applies to small quantities for personal use.. (unless you are talking live trees, etc..)
the beetles in the cigars that you purchase from the carribean and central america are a greater risk.. (and they represent no risk to anything other than your stash)...
Import/Export is a significant part of what I do for a living.. I was in DC yesterday meeting with export compliance people at the Department of State.. I spend A LOT of time overseas, and my business requires me to "export" everything from services to products that are regulated by both Commerce (Export Administration Regulations... EAR) and by State (International Traffic in Arms Regulations... ITAR)...)
Sincerely not trying to be snooty here.. but the information you are putting out is not completely accurate...