“The CITES Standing Committee endorsed suggestions from the music industry to amend its rosewood regulations at its October meeting in Sochi, Russia,” states an unsigned article on last Monday’s (11/19) Music Trades. CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. “CITES delegates present in Sochi unanimously agreed that trade in musical instruments is not detrimental the global health of threatened rosewood species forests and tentatively proposed to loosen the regulations that have burdened instrument makers since January 2017. Specifically, the revised CITES rosewood rules would exempt all finished musical instruments, finished musical instrument parts, and finished musical instrument accessories containing dalbergia species from the necessity to obtain an export permit to ship these products internationally. The proposal will need to be put in the form of a formal resolution, sponsored by a government body, and formally submitted for consideration at the 18th Conference of the Parties in Sri Lanka in May 2019…. The on-site industry working group in Sochi was supported by National Association of Music Merchants and headed by Heather Noonan, vice president for advocacy for the League of American Orchestras.” Other participants included representatives from multiple U.S. and international music associations.
Posted November 26, 2018
