Official Luthiers Forum!

Trust me....India has been exporting rosewood in this form for many, many years. Nearly every guitar factory uses or has used rosewood fingerboard or bridge blanks from India. That is what makes this such a curious incident in my mind.
I will just reiterate what others have said.....Indian rosewood is not endangered. It is managed by the Indian government. Much of it comes from tea plantations, and the government only allows wild trees that are dead to be harvested.

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John

You're absolutely correct, and there lies the problem. For almost 20 years millions of Indian ebony and rosewood fingerboard blanks over 6mm thick have been exported and imported under HTS 9209.92.00. The worldwide guitar industry, not only the U.S., is dependent on this government controlled and sustainable wood source. The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Directorate General of Foreign Trade in New Delhi has explicitly declared in writing that fingerboard blanks are exportable under this tariff classification. Indian port inspectors have always cleared the export shipments, as have U.S. import inspectors and agents, never challenging the wood's legality until the sudden recent objections.

Many years ago there was a commercial classification known as “semi-finished raw materials” or “semi-finished parts”, but since the current HS definitions don’t allow that distinction the “finished” fingerboard blanks don’t neatly fit into the available taxonomy. They are certainly more than just “sawn logs” but definitely less than ready-to-install instrument parts. The tariff classifications need to be amended to conform to reality, not just Indian or U.S. interpretations, and this can be proposed by NAMM as an industry organization. In fact, I'm working all this weekend with others on NAMM's "Taskforce" team to review proposed further amendments to the current Lacey Act Amendments, which will be presented in Washington for consideration.

I don't often add to the conversation, but in reading the postings I see that the personal characteristics that drive you to build your own musical instruments are the same qualities of independence and willingness to work that make you all true individualists. If asked about luthiers, by this group, I am proud to identify with each and all of you.

Dave Hurd

I think we should just build with local woods.
Until they become under the Lacey scrutiny.
Then, just give up........

Local woods are under Lacey scrutiny...

I think people should read this to avoid a lot of confusion. THE U.S. LACEY ACT
Frequently Asked Questions About the World’s First Ban on Trade in Illegal Wood
http://www.eia-global.org/lacey/P6.EIA.LaceyReport.pdf

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