CITES update

"They got their wish Monday as a key CITES committee approved it. If finalized as expected this week, the exemption will allow finished musical instruments as well as parts and accessories containing rosewood to be transported freely around the world without permits."

Approved in committee, expected to be written in as final this week.

 
The timing of this couldn’t be better. I couldn’t find anything “CITES” that talked specifically about APO/FPO so I took a chance and shipped a guitar to Okinawa yesterday. By the time it reaches any customs point of inspection the rules will be changed. 

 
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Finally I can place that order on a grand piano completely made from rosewood, including a rosewood piano chair.

Edit: and a rosewood church organ for the missus.

 
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polara said:
"They got their wish Monday as a key CITES committee approved it. If finalized as expected this week, the exemption will allow finished musical instruments as well as parts and accessories containing rosewood to be transported freely around the world without permits."

Approved in committee, expected to be written in as final this week.
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Please keep in mind such changes are usually also not instantaneous, but more like "as of November 14, 2019". 

It is promising news for guitarists, but if you are eyeing a deal at this very moment, you may have a bit of wait to go. 

 
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According to what you and others here have posted about going through in the past year, there are already long waits. 

 
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Frank U just sent an update from the CITES meeting. It's on my profile, but the regulation change is expected to go into effect 90 days from August 28th. Don't expect your rosewood-necked guitar to sail through this week, but it seems there's an end in sight for a well-intentioned but poorly-planned effort to rein in out-of-control forestry practices.

 
While it doesn't go into effect for 90 days, I can't imagine much effort going into enforcement in the meantime, especially when there was no good system to do it ever put into place.

 
polara said:
Frank U just sent an update from the CITES meeting. It's on my profile, but the regulation change is expected to go into effect 90 days from August 28th. Don't expect your rosewood-necked guitar to sail through this week, but it seems there's an end in sight for a well-intentioned but poorly-planned effort to rein in out-of-control forestry practices.
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Well now that fire is destroying the remaining Brazilian rosewood.............

cynic said:
While it doesn't go into effect for 90 days, I can't imagine much effort going into enforcement in the meantime, especially when there was no good system to do it ever put into place.
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As someone who had a guitar stuck in US Customs for over three months which had no rosewood whatsoever, I think you are overly optimistic.  

 
And a buddy had a guitar held up by customs (fish and wildlife) for weeks as they were demanding the sourcing for the MOTHER OF PEAR:L inlays.

All things considered, I would prefer to not deal with cross border shipments at all.

 
'Murphy's Law' & bureaucracy...

I wouldn't start counting on international shipments containing rosewood sailing through customs for at least the rest of this year.

YMMV

 
cynic said:
The timing of this couldn’t be better. I couldn’t find anything “CITES” that talked specifically about APO/FPO so I took a chance and shipped a guitar to Okinawa yesterday. By the time it reaches any customs point of inspection the rules will be changed. 
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It most definitely COULD have been better.

They could have written the rules properly 3 years ago when this shit all came up in the first place. People have been howling about this for the last couple of years, and the committee knew full well they forces a massive regulatory apparatus into place for something that didn't affect the forests they ostensibly want to protect, affecting literally millions of people. Even the regulatory agencies complained, as it was a shit ton of work for them for no positive gain. 

ANY time in the last couple of years the could have resolved this.

It definitely could be better timing.

 
From the article:

Frank Untermyer, Supply Chain Director at Martin, said the regulations' administrative burden on his company, as well as the impact on the global reach of music "cannot be overstated."

 
The interesting thing here, as a couple have already pointed out, the rosewood restriction is just one thing that can snag a guitar being imported. In the last two years, I have heard of no confirmed instances of a guitar held up due to rosewood. I have, however, heard of snags (and been questioned) due to questionas about mother of pearl and MDF material. And as Studio Custom mentioned, just hung up for no good reason other than insufficient paperwork. 

 
Yeah, and all because of Chinese demand for rosewood furniture.

Which is ironic, as China doesn't give a rat's ass about CITES or any other international regulations. When Mexican Cocobolo hit the list, they just bypassed the legit cocobolo suppliers and go straight to the cartels. Same thing happened with formerly common hardwoods from Africa and Madigascar in the past. Not to mention a lot of other stuff like ivory and rhino horn.

 
Nice to see some common sense prevail.  The whole CITES thing in regard to musical instruments didn't make sense anyway.  Now I can hope to import a guitar or two from the USA again where they're not as extortionately priced without having this stupidity to trip up over.  The Chinese don't give a shit about international laws and will just find ways to circumvent them for whatever it is they want and they'll just carry on taking whatever they want regardless of the further damage they cause to endangered species or whatever.  I do my best to boycott any & all Chinese goods.

 
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