Luthiers - how you dealing with the new CITES regs?

[geordie1]

There have been quite a few threads on several forums about the new additions to CITES that came into effect Jan 2 this year. My question is to fellow makers - how's it going with the paperwork? Has anyone gone through all this yet?

How about when you're dealing with new customers - for those overseas/cross-border clients are you still happy to use rosewood/bubinga and tackle the paperwork at your own expense? Passing the cost on? Or are you steering them towards alternatives?

nigel

[jessupe]

Well there's a lot I'd say about this topic, but I won't, it gets way too political.

[geordie1]

Originally Posted by jessupe

Well there's a lot I'd say about this topic, but I won't, it gets way too political.

It's not the "rights and wrongs" I'm interested in - there's nothing we can do about the laws - we either comply or avoid using newly listed materials for export customers.

How are you dealing with new inquiries when an overseas customer asks for rosewood?

[jessupe]

Originally Posted by geordie1

It's not the "rights and wrongs" I'm interested in - there's nothing we can do about the laws - we either comply or avoid using newly listed materials for export customers.

How are you dealing with new inquiries when an overseas customer asks for rosewood?

Basically I stop using any materials on the list. {recently was going to buy Bubinga before the new addition to the list, opted for African Mahogany instead, glad I did} I don't have many clients, but those that I do are out of the states usually. There are ways around it all, as there typically are. Too bad well meaning ideology just creates situations where people with good intentions perusing a noble way of life are thrust into criminal activity or business killing time consuming fee'd compliance or grey legal costly ways around the entire thing where we now have private couriers shuttling "their" own "personal" instruments around the world

I absolutely do not agree with "nothing we can do about the laws", maybe right now . I will say that laws in these regards are not the solution to resource management, the solution lies in manufacturers, builders and consumers changing their "Group think" mentality about certain "everyone" knows that related to species use.

This forum like many, that have "Traditional" aspects built into the topic can either be a good thing by allowing us to discuss the merits of "other woods" or it can be bad by re enforcing "traditional" use which basically says we're stuck in a way of thinking that maybe was "ok" back in 1900 when all this wood seemed like it was here forever and because these "brand name" species became popular then, we will continue to drive the market and desire for these woods because its "traditional".

I think what Bob Taylor says about Ebony and its harvesting and usage sums it up pretty well in that one video he made. Basically the key to this quandary is diversification of usage,and the education and fostering of renewable stewardship of the forests where these materials come from. Right now there is too much of a combination of poaching/drug dealing aspect to it all. I feel this change is a psychological societal issue as much as it is a raping of the forest. The "drugs"/ wood are being harvested at the rate and abandon that they are because of demand.

I enjoy using materials that are not traditional partly to be unique, partly to see what they do in second gear and partly to not have to deal with this and or because I feel that certain stuff should not be used unless it's old stock.

So long story short, you either comply, don't use anything on the list or find a sketchy way around it.