More CITES Information - Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag
In this episode, luthier Robbie O’Brien answers more questions about CITES restrictions on musical instruments.
Video Transcription
[on-screen text reads: Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag]
Mailbag question: Will I have problems with CITES regulations if I travel to the US with my Indian rosewood guitar?
Robert O'Brien: Today's Tips du Jour Mailbag question comes to us from Brazil. "Robert, I need to travel to the US with my Indian rosewood guitar. Will I have problems with the CITES regulations?," Ricardo in Brazil.
Brazilian rosewood restrictions
That is a very good question, Ricardo. Now, everybody knows that on January 2nd, 2017, Dalbergias, all rosewoods, as well as Bubingas went on Appendix II of the CITES treaty. Brazilian rosewood has been on Appendix I for a number of years. In other words, they're in trouble of being or threatened with extinction.
Now, fortunately, Fish and Wildlife Service sent me a letter here recently, and it has answered a lot of the questions about the issues that have risen due to the January 2nd, 2017 restrictions of rosewood. I've got a lot of notes here. Ricardo, it's going to answer your question. Hopefully, it will answer a lot of other people's questions about how the restrictions pertain to us as luthiers, as well as musicians.
Non-commercial rosewood
So here we go. I'm going to try and pass the information on here in a quick and easy format, but I'm going to have to refer to my notes.
First of all, let's address the non-commercial aspect of the CITES restrictions on rosewood. At the 69th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee held in November/December of 2017, the CITES and parties agreed to a number of interim interpretations of the term non-commercial.
So non-commercial, what is it? The cross-border movement of items such as musical instruments for purposes including but not limited to personal use, paid or unpaid performances, display or competition, for example, also temporary exhibitions, and when such cross-border movement will not lead to the sale of the item and the item is returned to the country where the item is normally held. Also, the cross-border movement of an item such as a musical instrument for the purpose of being repaired in view of the fact that the item will remain under the ownership of the same person and that such transport will not lead to the sale of that item. The return to the seller or manufacturer of a product under warranty after sales service should also be considered as a non-commercial transaction.
So note, also, such transactions are considered non-commercial, regardless of whether or not there's a fee associated with the repair of the item. That's good news.
But if they have Appendix I items like Brazilian rosewood, ivory, tortoise, shell, et cetera, they must have the permit. The loan of an item such as a musical instrument for exhibition in museums, competition, or performance purposes is also considered non-commercial.
Cross-border movement for the purpose of trade shows and trade fairs is considered a commercial transaction.
Personal effects exemption
So Ricardo, there's an exemption for personal items. Paragraph B and annotation 15 of that paragraph refers to an exemption of personal items with less than 10 kilos. And there's been some questions around that. What is the 10 kilos?
First of all, let's talk about the personal effects exemption. Under CITES, the term personal or household effects means specimens that are personally owned and legally acquired and worn, carried, or included in personal baggage as a part or a part of a household move. Generally speaking, items that meet this definition are exempt from the CITES requirements.
However, please also note that currently under US regulations, species included in Appendix I do not qualify for the personal effects exemption. So Brazilian rosewood, ivory, tortoise, and et cetera do not qualify for this personal effects exemption.
Non-commercial international trade of a maximum total weight of 10 kilos per shipment does not require CITES documentation. Now, the Fish and Wildlife Service clarified this, because there's a lot of issues arising around that 10 kilos definition. What is it? They have clarified this to mean that the total weight of the prohibited species, not the total weight of the instrument, unless the instrument of course is made out entirely of a prohibited species, which would be difficult. It also does not include the case. So anything under 10 kilograms does not require the CITES documentation.
Commercial transactions
So I hope this is helping, Ricardo. A lot of information here to delve into. Let's go into the commercial aspect of things for us luthiers and musicians, traveling musicians.
Here's a question that arose. Do I need CITES documents for a commercial transaction for a single instrument if the instrument has under 10 kilos of Dalbergia or rosewood? And the answer is yes, under this scenario, you would need a CITES document. Ten kilo exception is only for non-commercial use.
Trade shows, a lot of luthiers want to go to trade shows. Do you need CITES documentation to go to the trade show? Yes, and a certificate of registration is not sufficient. In other words, if you're registered for the trade show, in addition to that, you need your CITES documentation. And remember that also anything on Appendix I, you need a guitar passport or some type of CITES documentation for that as well.
Flying back to Japan
Here's another question. I rarely sell my guitars outside the United States, but I have a customer coming to the United States to pick up a guitar in February. Will they be able to fly back to Japan with their instrument? Here's what the Fish and Wildlife Service says about that. Pay attention, luthiers. Because the sale took place in the United States, if the individual travels to the United States and carries, hand carries the instrument back to Japan, this will be considered a personal effect and not subject to CITES. However, the exemption under CITES does not apply for Appendix I. Once again, Brazilian rosewood, ivory, tortoiseshell, those things do not apply. They're not exempt. And because of those, the individual must obtain a CITES document before returning to Japan with the instrument.
Now, there's a word of caution here. Fish and Wildlife says that not all CITES parties apply uniformly the exemption. So please advise your customer to confirm with the Japanese CITES authorities that they share this interpretation. If Japan requires that the guitar be accompanied by a US CITES document, Fish and Wildlife service can indeed issue that document.
But that's good news for us small-time luthiers. A client can come and pick up the instrument if he likes.
Traveling musicians
Now, what about traveling musicians? How does this all apply to the traveling musicians? There's guidance for traveling musicians, and there's an overview of critical topics that can be seen at the League of American Orchestras webinar. Now, I'll put that link here on the screen. It's about an hour-long webinar with a lot of these questions, and I hope it will answer some of the questions for you.
Does my instrument need a permit?
So permit requirements for individuals. You're an individual traveling musician. Does my instrument need a permit when I travel with it? It does not have CITES listed wildlife components, for example, ivory, Brazilian rosewood, but it does have Appendix II rosewood. This question relates to paragraph B of annotation 15 as it applies to Dalbergia and Bubinga. In other words, falls under the 10 kilogram exemption, and you're good to go.
This includes but is not limited to personal use, paid or unpaid performances, display or competition. Remember that the 10 kilogram threshold refers to the weight of the protected species and not the entire instrument, unless the whole instrument is made out of the prohibited species.
What about protected species
However, some instruments may contain more than 10 kilograms. That's a hard word to say, 10 kilograms, of the protected species, such as a double bass, a marimba, or certain drums. Now, I would assume that those are included in exemption, but it's really not clear, and perhaps that will need to be clarified at a future meeting.
Remember, though, that if even in Appendix II Dalbergia or Bubinga in an instrument, if it's less than 10 kilograms, if it is being traded internationally for commercial purposes such as sale, it must be accompanied by the CITES document. So don't plan on taking your instrument to a gig and selling it.
Traveling with an orchestra
Now, what about orchestras? You have a lot of people, a quartet, for example, or an entire orchestra traveling with instruments. There's an exemption for that as well. Regarding the interpretation of the terms in paragraph B, annotation 15, there it comes again, a personal exemption. In the case of orchestras, musical ensembles, and similar groups which travel with all instruments in the form of consolidated shipment, the cross-border movement of musical instruments in a container together with or prior to the traveling of the group is considered a consolidated shipment. In such cases, the total weight of the wood in the instruments constituting the consolidated shipment is likely to exceed the 10 kilogram exemption.
So such consolidated shipments should nonetheless not require a CITES document if the instruments weigh less than 10 kilograms or the individual instruments weigh less than 10 kilograms. In other words, good news. Put it all in one big container, ship it. It's just as if you were traveling with an individual instrument, as long as it's under that 10 kilogram exemption.
Oh my God, what a mess, huh, Ricardo? We've opened up a can of worms here. I hope this clarifies your question. Feel free to travel with your personal items. Not an issue. Even with traveling musicians and orchestras, we've learned that it's not an issue. However, in 2019, there's going to be another meeting, so these things might change. They might become easier, might become more restricted. Don't take my word for it. Do your homework [on-screen text reads: https://www.fws.gov/international/]. Do your research. But you should be good to go. I have students come in from outside of the United States all the time. They take my six-day guitar building course and they travel home with their instruments, and there's been no issues, based on annotation 15 of paragraph B.
So happy building, happy playing. Let's go make some sawdust.
[on-screen text reads: More Luthier Tips and online courses available at www.obrienguitars.com. Private and small group guitar building and finishing instruction available.]
