Download the 2021 revision of AHPA's Primer on Importing and Exporting CITES-Listed Species here.

AHPA has updated its “Primer on Importing and Exporting CITES-Listed Species,” a free resource that provides the herbal industry with the latest information on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The May 2021 update includes additional species and annotations added to the CITES Appendices since the Primer’s original publication and recognition that some CITES-listed species are used in cosmetics, as well as supplements and traditional medicinal products. The Primer also provides links to the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service new ePermit web-based applications.

CITES is an international agreement between 179 countries on specific requirements for the international trade of certain plant and animal species. These requirements are aimed at ensuring international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

AHPA published the Primer to help members and the herbal products industry understand the processes and practices that must be followed to comply with CITES requirements when importing and exporting species listed on CITES appendices.

"A number of AHPA members market products that contain species listed in one of the CITES Appendices," said AHPA President Michael McGuffin. "AHPA will continue to work with the CITES Plants Committee and the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service to promote sustainable harvest of CITES-listed species and to inform members and the industry about the latest CITES requirements."

AHPA is submitting the updated Primer as an informational capacity-building reference document for use during the upcoming CITES 25th Plants Committee Meeting.

2021 updates

• Added reference that CITES-listed species are in commerce in cosmetic products.
• Three species were added to the table of species in the Primer – Aniba rosaeodora (Brazilian rosewood), Dalbergia spp. (rosewood), and Pterocarpus erinaceus (African barwood), along with any associated CITES annotations.
• Updated links to the new U.S. Fish Wildlife Service ePermit webforms needed to conduct trade in animal species were added.

The primer includes six sections:

1. What is CITES?
2. CITES-Listed Species in Commerce
3. How CITES is Implemented in the United States
4. Import, Export, or Re-export of a CITES-Listed Species
5. Commonly Traded CITES-Listed Species
6. Supplemental Information and Sample Checklists

The CITES primer was created through the joint efforts of AHPA staff and members. Editorial review was provided in part by staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's International Affairs Program. Financial support was provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.