FWS to Handle Rosewood Shipments Without New CITES Documents on 'Case-by-Case' Basis, FWS Official Says

The Fish and Wildlife Service will take a “case-by-case” approach to shipments of rosewoods and other wood species arriving after Jan. 2 without newly required Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species documentation, said Craig Hoover, chief of the FWS Division of Management Authority, during a webinar hosted in early December by the International Wood Products Association (here).

The listing in CITES Appendix II in October of all Dalbergia species, commonly known as rosewoods, as well as African rosewoods and some species of bubinga has put FWS in “new territory,” unsure of how many new permit applications it will receive, said Tim Van Norman, chief of the FWS Branch of Permits, speaking during the webinar. Shipments of CITES Appendix II species require export permits or certificates from the exporting country, unless they carry “annotations” exempting them from coverage, said Keri Parker, an FWS outreach specialist. The new listings take effect Jan. 2 (see 1612280021).

FWS will work with CBP on how to handle shipments already on the water that arrive after that effective date without the required export documentation, Hoover said. The agency will take into consideration the original expected arrival date of the shipment, and may consult with the government of the exporting country to determine its awareness of, and guidance on, the new CITES documentation requirements, he said. But FWS’s general expectation is that all shipments arriving on or after Jan. 2 will be accompanied by CITES documentation, Hoover said.

Kosso, or African rosewood, was listed without any annotations, so will require CITES documents for all parts and derivatives. Listings for all species of Dalbergia, with the exception of Brazilian rosewood already listed in Appendix I, as well as the three newly listed species of bubinga, do carry annotations establishing exemptions from documentation requirements. Notably, non-commercial shipments not exceeding 10 kilograms are exempt, which will allow instruments under that weight to be brought in by musicians for performances and other personal travel, Parker said. The exemption will only apply to imports for repair or warranty if no financial transaction is involved, Van Norman said.

An annotation for Dalbergia cochinchinensis is not applicable and will not remove permit requirements for wood products, Parker said. Another annotation applies to the newly listed Dalbergia species originating in and exported from Mexico. Under that annotation, logs, sawn wood, veneer sheets and plywood originating in and exported from Mexico require permits, she said. FWS clarified annotations and the effective date of new restrictions for rosewoods and bubinga in a letter sent to industry (here). The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which regulates CITES-listed shipments that do not contain animal parts, includes information on covered species and exemptions in its CITES Timber Species Manual (here).

FWS will issue master file permits to exporters covering both finished products and components, or covering multiple listed species, Van Norman said. The agency will work with the applicant to make sure the permit is workable. Permits with multiple pages can create difficulties for FWS and for enforcement at the border, he said. A 10-page permit that is only being used for one item on page 5 has a lot of extra pages, he said. FWS will work with each applicant to “come up with the best way of meeting their needs for a permit and our needs to make sure that it’s effective and efficient,” he said.