It is fashionable to cuss and lambast the dad blasted gubbermint and their fellow travelers the do gooders, and I’ve done it all my life.
For forty years, from 1976 to 2016, intestate commerce in any article that had any tiny part that was elephant ivory was hazardous to you meeting new friends and finding new romances in federal prison.
Then in 2016 the Obama administration promulgated the de minimus rule for elephant ivory——
——
The "de minimis" ivory rule refers to an exemption in U.S. law allowing the sale of certain manufactured or handcrafted items containing a small amount of ivory, specifically from African elephants, if the item was made before the rule's effective date (July 6, 2016), the ivory is integral, not raw, and not the primary source of value or volume, and the total weight of the ivory is less than 200 grams
. This exemption was put in place to clarify restrictions on interstate commerce in African elephant ivory under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Criteria for the de minimis exemption (U.S. law):
To qualify for the de minimis exemption, the ivory must be a fixed component of a larger manufactured or handcrafted item, and the item must meet all of the following conditions:
- Age of the item: The item must have been manufactured or handcrafted before the rule's effective date of July 6, 2016.
- Origin of the ivory: The ivory component must not be raw; it must be worked ivory.
- Integral component: The ivory must be an integral and fixed part of the larger item.
- Value and volume: The ivory cannot be the primary source of the item's value (i.e., does not account for more than 50% of the item's value) and the ivory component does not account for more than 50% of the item's volume.
- Weight: The total weight of the ivory component(s) must be less than 200 grams.
Important Considerations:
- Scope: This exemption applies specifically to African elephant ivory and does not apply to other types of ivory.
- Interstate Commerce: The rule allows for domestic interstate sale of qualifying items, which was previously prohibited.
- Documentation: Proving an item meets these criteria requires sufficient documentation.
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The only problem with those pipes is under no circumstances should you even think about separating the ivory stem as a seperate item for sale.
And personally, I’d never own such a thing.
You’ve set a trap for your great grandchildren yet unborn. Another administration could repeal the exemption.
And as for yourself, not every cop gets the memo about de minimus, you know?
And how do you prove the ivory stem is not over half the value?
And is a removable pipe stem a “fixed and integral part of the larger item”?
I’d give that to somebody I didn’t like very well.
