CITES

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Hippie3180

Hippie3180

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I'm so confused, does anyone know of a comprehensive list of woods that are restricted for shipping outside the U.S.? Am I correct in that Cocobolo may not be shipped outside the U.S.? I'm struggling to find a "for sure" answer.
 
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I don't have an answer, but will be following this thread in hopes of getting one.
 
Cocobolo as well as almost all of the the other CITES Appendix 2 woods can be exported however you need a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). I think Cocobolo is covered by form 3-200-32 Export Re-Export Plants. Of course there is some kind of nonrefundable processing fee associated with it.

The whole process seems quite cumbersome. I think that's why many companies simply refuse to export any of the CITES listed woods - it just isn't worth the documentation or the aggravation.

Dave
 
egnald said:
Cocobolo as well as almost all of the the other CITES Appendix 2 woods can be exported however you need a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). I think Cocobolo is covered by form 3-200-32 Export Re-Export Plants. Of course there is some kind of nonrefundable processing fee associated with it.

The whole process seems quite cumbersome. I think that's why many companies simply refuse to export any of the CITES listed woods - it just isn't worth the documentation or the aggravation.

Dave
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Yes, it seems very hard to navigate and to find an up to date list. According to CITES there is paperwork and a fee of $100-$150.

I think we will only ship within 48 states to avoid any issues. My husband says Hawaii and Alaska should not be a problem, but I know things go through customs.
 
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There are no customs regulation regarding wood shipped within all 50 states. I've sent Brazilian Rosewood to different people in the U.S. without restrictions. I had a lady in Australia who wanted a pen made out of a CITES controlled wood I had and that would have probably been kicked back and had to have gone through customs. The customs form would have ratted me out on that piece. There are no customs forms that I'm aware of that you need to fill out shipping with the 50 U.S. states. So no, you can send via USPS any item you want, knives are excluded in this as different laws on certain knives vary from state to state and guns are the same but that's a fed thing, but not any wood than I'm aware of. I ship and receive Koa from Hawaii regularly without any problems. The only thing I've ever been called on in any wood species was that it be kiln dried, and that was when I flew home with a large amount, again, from Hawaii. Some one else may have a different experience but I've never had any issues.
 
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FWIW, you can search their species list here. It will tell you which appendix the species are in. The appendices are briefly explained here.

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wolf creek knives said:
There are no customs regulation regarding wood shipped within all 50 states. I've sent Brazilian Rosewood to different people in the U.S. without restrictions. I had a lady in Australia who wanted a pen made out of a CITES controlled wood I had and that would have probably been kicked back and had to have gone through customs. The customs form would have ratted me out on that piece. There are no customs forms that I'm aware of that you need to fill out shipping with the 50 U.S. states. So no, you can send via USPS any item you want, knives are excluded in this as different laws on certain knives vary from state to state and guns are the same but that's a fed thing, but not any wood than I'm aware of. I ship and receive Koa from Hawaii regularly without any problems. The only thing I've ever been called on in any wood species was that it be kiln dried, and that was when I flew home with a large amount, again, from Hawaii. Some one else may have a different experience but I've never had any issues.
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Good info. Is the same true for US Territories? Like Puerto Rico or US Virgin Islands...
 
greenacres2 said:
Good info. Is the same true for US Territories? Like Puerto Rico or US Virgin Islands...
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Shipping from the 50 states to a US Customs territory like Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands are not considered exports. That being said, there may be some taxes imposed by the entities themselves - for example USVI has its own customs and duties system. - Dave
 
I've put in an email to CITES to try and get a more definitive list and answer regarding finished items, dollar amount etc. I'm not optimistic that I'll hear back from them, but we'll see.
 
So, I don't see Cocobolo on the current CITES appendix and we did read something that made it sound like under 22 pounds and a finished product might be okay….but of course it's not very clear.
 
Cocobolo is in Appendix 2. They call it Black Rosewood. Here is the official CITES timber guide. On page 2-10 it goes through species and alternate names for species. There is a weight limit for shipping CITES timber (10kg = 22lb), but as far as I know, you still need a permit for anything on Appendix 1 and 2.
 
According to the FDA and other sources, common names for Dalbergia retusa, Cocobolo, include Funeram, Funera (El Salvador), Nambar, Namba, (Nicaragua, Costa Rica), Cocobolo prieto (Panama), Palo negro (Honduras), as well as Caviuna, Nicaraguan Rosewood, Palisander, Palissandro, and Urauna, but this is the first time I've heard it called Black Rosewood - Interesting. - Dave
 
Although Sonoran Desert Ironwood is a protected species, it is not listed in either CITES or on the IUCN Red List, when it comes to being a gorgeous wood, I think it is right up there with Cocobolo. - Dave
 
Desert Ironwood is a beautiful wood for sure and one of my favorites.

I think with the fluctuating CITES list, it's going to be fun to try to figure out what is safe to ship internationally…or maybe not, maybe there's a way to manage.
 
egnald said:
According to the FDA and other sources, common names for Dalbergia retusa, Cocobolo, include Funeram, Funera (El Salvador), Nambar, Namba, (Nicaragua, Costa Rica), Cocobolo prieto (Panama), Palo negro (Honduras), as well as Caviuna, Nicaraguan Rosewood, Palisander, Palissandro, and Urauna, but this is the first time I've heard it called Black Rosewood - Interesting. - Dave
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True rosewoods come from trees of the genus Dalbergia, but other woods are often called rosewood
 
ed4copies said:
Long ago we shipped 10 sticks of cocobolo to Germany. Pen blanks I had had for decades. It was in an order of several hundred dollars.
Germany seized the entire order.

We no longer ship most woods overseas.
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This is my fear, or some horrendous fine.
 
I love rosewood and have collected all of the common true rosewoods but one. Just a handful of years ago it was very hard to find Laotian RW. I see it for sale everywhere now, so something has changed or people are willing to take the chance?
 
Hippie3180 said:
So, I don't see Cocobolo on the current CITES appendix and we did read something that made it sound like under 22 pounds and a finished product might be okay….but of course it's not very clear.
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On the CITES site if you use the search function and type in cocobolo it will take you to the genus listing with the common names listed right below the info. That is one thing I do not like about these types of listings, you need to know the genus listing and I dont know about you, I am no Botanist.
 
Mortalis said:
On the CITES site if you use the search function and type in cocobolo it will take you to the genus listing with the common names listed right below the info. That is one thing I do not like about these types of listings, you need to know the genus listing and I dont know about you, I am no Botanist.
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I am certainly not a botanist either, and they couldn't make things more daunting to wade through.
 
Using the scientific name is necessity. Many woods have numerous common names, often they are misleading. There are more than a few that include the term rosewood, while they are not a true rosewood at all. Common names also vary by country. Personally I wouldn't send anything wooden outside of the USA unless I was absolutely sure it was ok. On the other side, if you ship a "pen" overseas they aren't going to open and inspect it unless it looks suspicious when x rayed.
 
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