CITES rosewood + acoustic guitar import compliance?
Most rosewood species are listed under CITES Appendix II, international trade is restricted, requires permits, and depending on country a re-export certificate. Affects acoustic guitars (fretboards, bridges), some classical guitars, and any instrument with rosewood components. Brazilian rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) is Appendix I, near-total trade ban, no commercial trade allowed except for pre-Convention specimens (pre-1992) with documentation.
What you need to handle:
- Import permit from your country’s CITES Management Authority (US: USFWS, EU: national authorities, UK: APHA, AU: DAWE). Each shipment crossing a border needs the permit attached.
- Manufacturer’s declaration of CITES status on every rosewood-containing instrument (most major brands, Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Yamaha, provide this automatically with each shipment).
- 2019 CITES change: the rosewood listing was narrowed so that finished musical instruments are largely exempt from CITES for commercial trade, but component parts (bare fretboards, bridge blanks, builder lumber) still require permits. Vintage instruments from before the listing (1992 for Brazilian, 2017 for general rosewood) need provenance documentation.
- Customs broker handling: even with the 2019 narrowing, large shipments still get flagged. Use a broker familiar with musical instrument shipments (e.g. Continental Cargo, OEC Group) to avoid containers held at port for 6+ weeks.
Magento mechanics: per-SKU compliance flags (custom attributes for “contains rosewood” / “CITES permit required” / “vintage pre-1992 documentation”), compliance gate at checkout for international orders (auto-checks destination + product flags, surfaces “additional shipping documentation required, 2-4 week lead time”), document upload to attach the manufacturer CITES declaration to each order line item.
If you’re selling vintage Martins / Gibsons internationally, this is non-negotiable. If you’re selling new gear domestically, the 2019 exemption mostly covers you, but flag the SKUs anyway in case the rule tightens again.