If that were true, you would not only be subject to CITES, but also to Canadian taxes and duties... which I am positive that merchandise transiting from USA mainland to Alaska through Canada is not subject to.
THAT's part of the NAFTA, which is why I mentioned it.
I quite often order camera equipment from B&H in New York State. Since many Canadians order equipment from them, to facilitate transport, a lot of their most popular stuff is stored in a bonded warehouse in Canada, which is considered "US territory" until it is officially processed as being sold into Canada. So even though it is physically in Canada, its still considered as being in the US.
That's still not quite the same thing; that's a manufacturer selling directly to Canadian customers, but not paying duties etc until a sale is actually shipped to the customer.
Also that's not CITES regulated product.
But I bet THIS or at least a similar concept would apply to something the US Postal Service is shipping across Canadian soil on behalf of one US citizen to another:
If you were to ship a guitar by land to Alaska, I am 99% sure it would transit through a bonded warehouse in Canada and travel via a secure trucking transport until it reaches Alaska. As long as it stays inside the "secure" truck, it is considered as being US territory.
I just wasn't sure.
Actually I'm still not sure.
Technically if you try to ship (or simply
possess)a CITES-listed endangered animal species INSIDE the US the US Fish and Wildlife Service can seize it, even from the US Postal Service's possession.
They are the US agency tasked with internal enforcement of the US's CITES treaty obligations.
That's why they conducted the raids seizing Gibson's illegally imported wood.
Just because it made it across the border didn't make it exempt from enforcement if found to be illegal after the fact.
What's occurring to me now is that even
inside the US, non-CITES compliant instruments
are technically subject to seizure, even if they're a very very low priority, so the safest thing to do is to have documentation demonstrating CITES compliance accompany anything being shipped.
If the violation is discovered while it's transiting Canada, I suppose the US could ask Canada to seize it for them, because the treaty itself is based on
mutual reciprocal enforcement.
I suppose Canada could say, "No, foot that bill on your own dime but we won't interfere with your effort while you're here", and it's an extreme "What if" scenario, but it demonstrates all the potential complications I can foresee...
So raised the caution to "find out" as a "better safe than sorry" suggestion.