---
kind: "section"
citation: "50 C.F.R. § 23.21"
title: "50"
number: "23.21"
heading: "What happens if a country enters a reservation for a species?"
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/50/23.21"
---

# §23.21. What happens if a country enters a reservation for a species?

- (a) **Purpose.** CITES is not subject to general reservations. Articles XV, XVI, and XXIII of the Treaty allow a Party to enter a specific reservation on a species listed in Appendix I, II, or III, or on parts, products, or derivatives of a species listed in Appendix III.
- (b) **General provision.** A Party can enter a reservation in one of the following ways:
  - (1) A Party must provide written notification to the Depositary Government (Switzerland) on a specific new or amended listing in the Appendices within 90 days after the CoP that adopted the listing, or at any time for Appendix-III species.
  - (2) A country must provide written notification on a specific species listing when the country ratifies, accepts, approves, or accedes to CITES.
- (c) **Requesting the United States take a reservation.** You may submit information relevant to the issue of whether the United States should take a reservation on a species listing to the U.S. Management Authority. The request must be submitted within 30 calendar days after the last day of the CoP where a new or amended listing of a species in Appendix I or II occurs, or at any time for a species (or its parts, products, or derivatives) listed in Appendix III.
- (d) **Required CITES documents.** Except as provided in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, Parties treat a reserving Party as if it were a non-Party for trade in the species concerned (including parts, products, and derivatives, as appropriate). The following table indicates when CITES documents must accompany a shipment and which Appendix should appear on the face of the document:
- (e) **Reservations taken by countries.** You may consult the CITES website or contact us (see [§ 23.7](/cfr/50/23.7.md)) for a list of countries that have taken reservations and the species involved.

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (March 3, 1973), 27 U.S.T. 1087; and Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.

### Source

Source: 72 FR 48448, Aug. 23, 2007, unless otherwise noted.