Commercial Rosewood and Bubinga Import/Export Regulations to Take Effect January 2

Note: U.S. domestic shipments will NOT require permits. Guidelines outlined for rosewood, bubingas and kosso import/export and use of in-stock wood.

Action protecting more than 250 species of rosewood (dalbergia), three species of bubinga (guibourtia) and kosso (Pterocarpus erinaceus) taken at the recent meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) will have broad implications on the international shipments of musical  instruments containing these woods including guitars, marimbas and various types of woodwinds.

The CITES delegates at the September 2016 Conference of the Parties in South Africa elected to expand the protection afforded to these tonewoods by placing select species of bubinga (Guibourtia demeusei, Guibourtia pellegriniana, and Guibourtia tessmannii,) kosso (Pterocarpus erinaceus) and 250 rosewood  species on Appendix II.  Only Brazilian rosewood, currently protected under a stricter Appendix I listing is excluded.  The expanded listing comes with an annotation which makes the protection applicable to not only logs and sawn wood, but also what’s called “all parts and derivatives,” which means finished products like musical instruments.

The expanded listing, which will take effect on January 2, 2017 is applicable worldwide and will require all manufacturers and retailers of musical instruments containing one or more the aforementioned species (excluding Brazilian rosewood) to obtain a permit from the appropriate government regulatory agency (in the United States, it is the Fish and Wildlife Service) if they wish to export one or more instruments outside of the country. Domestic shipments will not require a permit.

• On Wednesday, December 7 at 9:00 am Pacific / 12:00 noon Eastern there will be a free one-hour webinar that provides an overview of the rules for musical instruments and invites your questions. The event will review the basics and also provide important insights into the U.S. African elephant ivory rules adopted last summer and the new tone wood policies created at this year’s CITES treaty negotiations that go into effect in 2017. Register here.
• For specific information, please read this letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to U.S. timber importers and re-exporters.
• U.S. Companies with questions about this new listing, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Management Authority at:

            [email protected]  

            Phone: 703-358-2095

            Fax: 703-358-2298

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Permit Information and Instructions
• Non-U.S. companies seeking to import to the U.S. or export to other countries, contact the CITES Management Authority of your country of origin.
• If you have specific questions about the designated U.S. ports for CITES-listed plants import, or other enforcement matters related to the CITES listings of Dalbergia and Guibourtia, please contact: Mr. John Veremis with APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine at: [email protected]

             Phone: 301-851-2347