Implementing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); Updates Following the Eighteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP18) to CITES

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS or Service), are taking direct final action to revise regulations that implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES or Treaty or Convention) by incorporating certain non- controversial provisions adopted at the sixteenth through eighteenth meetings of the Conference of the Parties (CoP16-CoP18) to CITES and clarifying and updating certain other provisions. These changes will bring U.S. regulations in line with certain revisions adopted at the three most recent meetings of the Conference of the Parties, which took place in March 2013 (CoP16), September-October 2016 (CoP17), and August 2019 (CoP18). The revised regulations will help us more effectively promote species conservation, help us continue to fulfill our responsibilities under the Treaty, and help those affected by CITES to understand how to conduct lawful international trade.