oudistcamp
Oud Junkie
Posts: 144
Registered: 5-27-2009
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Rosewood CITES restrictions
Listen to link below to feel totally depressed.
Too late for folks who do not own one already.....
https://1sourceevents.adobeconnect.com/p9505cbidb6/?launcher=false&a...
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Jody Stecher
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1373
Registered: 11-5-2011
Location: California
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Some of it indicates an improvement. At least there is a recognition that CITES has been unfair to musicians but I don’t think throwing up all this
red tape and collecting fees for permits is an improvement. And the latest developments show a good deal of ignorance. I mean who has seen a double
bass that contains 10 kilograms of bubinga? Basses are typically made of maple ( or plywood).
For most of us, proving how we acquired a 200 year old bow containing a smidgen of ivory or a 100 year old dalbergia guitar 50 years ago will be
impossible.
I'm embarrassed to be quoting The Donald but surely such demands are "very unfair".
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Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 2939
Registered: 1-30-2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Member Is Offline
Mood: Stringish
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For those who are disinclined to listen to the whole 59 minute presentation, the key takeaways are:
ALL rosewood (except Brazilian Rosewood) is now classified under tier 2, which means that it is protected and requires permits in some circumstances,
but not as heavily restricted as tier 1 (which includes Brazilian rosewood, ivory, some species of abalone and mother-of-pearl, and tortoiseshell).
Tier 1 items cannot be transported between countries without permits, and permits are generally only issued if the items were made before the relevant
bans took place (i.e., a tortoiseshell item would have to have been made before the 1973 ban, an ivory item would have to have been made before the
1989 ivory ban, etc.)
Except for African rosewood and Brazilian rosewood (which require a permit in all cases), rosewood items may generally be transported without a permit
as long as the amount of rosewood involved is under 10 Kg AND the item is not going to be sold. This means that musicians are generally OK if they
are traveling with personal instruments or for performance, but buying/selling an instrument will require a permit. HOWEVER, each country has their
own interpretation of the rules, so one is advised to check with specific countries well in advance of any travel in order to ensure there will be no
surprises. Additionally, countries may still require additional customs screening, and may charge fees associated with that.
There is some room for a professional appraisal to be provided as evidence when applying for a permit for an old instrument for which
provenance/documentation is unavailable.
My observations:
Small instrument makers are going to have a hard time sourcing woods with these restrictions.
I may have to stop carrying oud pegs in my store. I will certainly have to stop shipping them outside the US.
It's not clear whether you could, say, fly to Turkey, buy an oud there, and fly back without a permit. It seems likely that you could, at least if
you are flying directly to the US—the US has a "personal effects" exemption for non-commercial items. Since you wouldn't have needed a permit to
leave with the oud, they would have no way of determining that you bought it there if you simply carried it back with you.
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