PPQ Form 587

[Ray]

As I stated more briefly earlier, CITES has all paphs as Appendix I, meaning they cannot be internationally traded. However, CITES also clearly states (Article VII) that "Specimens of an animal species included in Appendix I bred in captivity for commercial purposes, or of a plant species included in Appendix I artificially propagated for commercial purposes, shall be deemed to be specimens of species included in Appendix II.", meaning that it CAN be imported with the proper permit and CITES docs from the exporter.

Further, right in the appendices, under the "Orchidaceae" heading, it states "For all of the following Appendix-I species, seedling or tissue cultures obtained in vitro, in solid or liquid media, transported in sterile containers are not subject to the provisions of the Convention".

Where the "gotcha" comes in is interpretation at the port of importation, as there have been cases in the recent past with Paph. vietnamense or Phrag kovachii in which APHIS has reused to even allow flasks in.