polara

Checking in from the floor of CITES CoP18 in Geneva. The exclusion for finished musical instruments, parts and accessories was accepted at Committee I by consensus yesterday late afternoon. It was the final item of the day. It should be was adopted by the plenary either later today or tomorrow. It should go into effect 90 days from August 28th.

NPR contacted me and others on this issue yesterday. There should be an article forthcoming as well.

There's been a group of music industry/association representatives that have actively followed and advocated on this issue from the onset of the Dalbergia listing.

Another noteworthy item is that Cedrela (Spanish cedar) was listed on Appendix II but associated with Annotation# 6 so it does not impact finished goods such as guitars. I was a strong advocate on this issue; Martin Guitar uses Cedrela for its lining (kerfing) on every Nazareth built guitar. It's also used on most classical guitar necks.

It's been a long road but definitely worthwhile.

Best to all of you Hamer fans.

Frank