Under the existing system, ivory cannot be imported unless it is an antique. Commercial objects made before 1976 and antiques can be exported, and domestic sales are essentially unregulated.
The new measures also will ban the import of antique African elephant ivory and all exports, except antiques.
The administration will ban the resale of elephant ivory across state lines, except antiques. Sales within a state will be prohibited unless the seller can demonstrate an item was lawfully imported before 1990 for African elephants and 1975 for Asian elephants. People can still own ivory and pass heirlooms to descendants, officials said.
Exceptions to the current rules have allowed trade in ivory to flourish in the United States, environmentalists said.
"Because we have an antiquities exemption, everything becomes an antique," said a senior administration official who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak for his agency.
To qualify as an antique under the new measures, an item must be more than 100 years old and meet other requirements under the Endangered Species Act, criteria that sellers will have to demonstrate.
The biggest change will be that law enforcement will no longer have to prove that ivory it seized was illicitly acquired. Owners now have the burden of proof to show they legally obtained it. If they imported it before 1990, for example, they will need to produce export permits from the country of origin and a U.S. import permit.
U.S. to ban most commercial trade of elephant ivory - latimes.com
