Existing restrictions
Existing restrictions concerning commercial activities in ivory are applied internationally through CITES, an international conservation agreement which aims to ensure that trade in endangered species does not threaten their survival. The Convention entered into force in 1975 and the UK ratified it in 1976. CITES has prohibited trade in new ivory, except in exceptional circumstances, from Asian elephants since 1975 and from African elephants since 1990.
	CITES is implemented within the European Union (EU) through four EC Regulations (338/97 as amended, 865/06 as amended, 792/2012 and 2015/736), which are more commonly referred to as the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations.5 6 7 8 These Regulations implement CITES in a stricter manner than is required by the Convention. The EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 allows for the full conversion of these regulations into UK law. The UK Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 2018 (COTES) make provision for enforcement of the European Regulations.9
	The Government has made clear its intention for the UK ivory ban to build upon and go further than current rules on ivory. Under the current regulations, items of worked ivory made prior to 3 March 1947 may be subject to commercial activities within the UK or the EU without a permit.10 A permit, issued by the UK’s CITES Management Authority, the Animal and Plant Health Authority (APHA)11 is required for the commercial use of worked ivory items made after 1947 and for the import or re-export of ivory of any age to third countries outside the EU. In line with EU guidance, the UK’s policy is not to issue documents authorising the sale of, or other commercial trade in, raw African elephant ivory of any age.
	The Act prohibits dealing in ivory and items regardless of their age, with the exception of items meeting one of the five categories of exemption. This will mean that the current date-based restrictions will become obsolete. "Backstop dates" are applied to the exemptions included within the Act to make sure modern ivory items are not permitted under the exemptions and that the UK ivory ban is at least as strong as or stronger than existing EU regulations.
	The EU Wildlife Regulations will continue to apply to the import and export of ivory to and from the UK, and alongside the exemptions in the Act. As a result, if the owner of an item of pre-1947 worked ivory wishes to sell it, or engage in another form of commercial use with it, to a country outside of the EU, they must: (i) ensure the item satisfies the conditions of an exemption under the Act; and (ii) meet existing requirements under the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations on the import and export of ivory. The UK is a Party to CITES in its own right and will continue to be bound by the obligations of the Convention on exiting the EU. The Government will ensure continued compliance with CITES on EU exit by amending both EU retained CITES legislation and UK CITES legislation under the powers in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 to address deficiencies arising from the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.