What the???

[Malibu]

This just found... I can understand the protection of endangered species, but come on!....

US proposes 'musical instrument passports'

[Jef Long]

If it enables you to travel with a valuable antique and be assured of no customs hassles then I say it's a great idea, why not

[Sebastiaan56]

Great idea, the thought of listening to a fabulous old instrument of Brazilian Rosewood or something like that is a turn on. Currently you can't take these instruments over borders.

[Timless Timber]

It's far worse than you could ever imagine.

After Two Raids, DOJ Decides No Criminal Charges Against Gibson Guitar Company | CNS News

After Two Raids, DOJ Decides No Criminal Charges Against Gibson Guitar Company

Three years after federal agents carrying automatic weapons raided the Gibson guitar factory in Nashville -- the first of two federal raids -- the company has agreed to settle Justice Department allegations that it violated the federal Lacey Act, which bans the importation of endangered wood products.

etc read it all at the link above..

So your minding your own business making a guitar at work and feds bust in TWICE with arms drawn....

Anyone doesn't believe the crazy yanks have totally lost the plot - that ought to be enough to convince them...

Time to repeal the wildlife legislation and disband the wildlife service, if the idiots running it think busting guitar factory workers, with guns drawn is a smart move!

Fancy that, you guys better go thru your scrap bins - if theres a bit of burnt wood in there which looks like ebony, you could be off to jail too!

As a former wildlife officer - it saddens me to read this crap - how can anyone have any respect any more.

Stop the world - I wanna get off - Ive had a gut full.


The Justice Department will not bring criminal charges against Gibson related to the company's purchase and importation of ebony and other exotic woods from Madagascar and India.

In return, Gibson admitted that it had failed to ensure that the exotic wood it was purchasing from its supplier had been legally harvested and exported.

Gibson has agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty to the U.S. government, and it also has agreed to make a "community service payment" of $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation -- to be used on research projects or tree conservation activities. The Fish and Wildlife Service conducted the investigation.

"We felt compelled to settle, as the costs of proving our case at trial would have cost millions of dollars and taken a very long time to resolve," Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz said in an Aug. 6 news release announcing the settlement. "This allows us to get back to the business of making guitars. An important part of the settlement is that we are getting back the materials seized in a second armed raid on our factories and we have formal acknowledgement that we can continue to source rosewood and ebony fingerboards from India, as we have done for many decades."

"This criminal enforcement agreement goes a long way in demonstrating the government’s commitment to protecting the world’s natural resources," said Jerry Martin, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. "The agreement is fair and just in that it assesses serious penalties for Gibson’s behavior while allowing Gibson to continue to focus on the business of making guitars.”

Gibson said the settlement follows many weeks of negotiations, and it leaves a bitter taste:

"We feel that Gibson was inappropriately targeted," Juszkiewicz said, adding that the matter "could have been addressed with a simple contact (from) a caring human being representing the government. Instead, the Government used violent and hostile means," including what Gibson described as "two hostile raids on its factories by agents carrying weapons and attired in SWAT gear where employees were forced out of the premises, production was shut down, goods were seized as contraband, and threats were made that would have forced the business to close."

Further, Gibson noted that the years-long investigation has cost taxpayers millions of dollars -- and put a "job-creating U.S. manufacture at risk and at a competitive disadvantage."

"This shows the increasing trend on the part of government to criminalize rules and regulations and treat U.S. businesses in the same way drug dealers are treated. This is wrong and it is unfair," Juszkiewicz said.

"I am committed to working hard to correct the inequity that the law allows and ensure there is fairness, due process, and the law is used for its intended purpose of stopping bad guys and stopping the very real deforestation of our planet".

As part of the settlement, the federal government acknowledged that Gibson cooperated with the investigation. Further, the settlement states that the Government and Gibson "acknowledge and agree that certain questions and inconsistencies now exist regarding the tariff classification of ebony and rosewood fingerboard blanks" under the Indian government's Foreign Trade Policy.

Gibson therefore will be allowed to continue importing exotic woods from India. "Accordingly, the Government will not undertake enforcement actions related to Gibson's future orders, purchases, or imports of ebony and rosewood fingerboard blanks from India, unless and until the Government of India provides specific clarification that ebony and rosewood fingerboard blanks are expressly prohibited by laws related to Indian Foreign Trade Policy," the settlement says.

(The fretboard or "fingerboard" of a guitar is the piece attached to the neck of the guitar, under the strings.)

Gibson, in a statement, said the company is "gratified" that the government "ultimately saw the wisdom and fairness in declining to bring criminal charges in this case."

The company also says true legislative reform is necessary to avoid what it calls the "criminalization of capitalism."

The privately held company is considered one of the top makers of acoustic and electric guitars, including the iconic Les Paul introduced in 1952.
- See more at: After Two Raids, DOJ Decides No Criminal Charges Against Gibson Guitar Company | CNS News

Cheers

[rhoads56]

They did wrong, twice. #### 'em. We all have to stick by the rules, Gibson chose not to.

[woodturner777]

This news is years Old, as for passport for a guitar this is a great idea I now use satellite navigation to show my larger customers where my logs came from each log is tracked from log to finished product.

It's far worse than you could ever imagine.

After Two Raids, DOJ Decides No Criminal Charges Against Gibson Guitar Company | CNS News



etc read it all at the link above..

So your minding your own business making a guitar at work and feds bust in TWICE with arms drawn....

Anyone doesn't believe the crazy yanks have totally lost the plot - that ought to be enough to convince them...

Time to repeal the wildlife legislation and disband the wildlife service, if the idiots running it think busting guitar factory workers, with guns drawn is a smart move!

Fancy that, you guys better go thru your scrap bins - if theres a bit of burnt wood in there which looks like ebony, you could be off to jail too!

As a former wildlife officer - it saddens me to read this crap - how can anyone have any respect any more.

Stop the world - I wanna get off - Ive had a gut full.


The Justice Department will not bring criminal charges against Gibson related to the company's purchase and importation of ebony and other exotic woods from Madagascar and India.

In return, Gibson admitted that it had failed to ensure that the exotic wood it was purchasing from its supplier had been legally harvested and exported.

Gibson has agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty to the U.S. government, and it also has agreed to make a "community service payment" of $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation -- to be used on research projects or tree conservation activities. The Fish and Wildlife Service conducted the investigation.

"We felt compelled to settle, as the costs of proving our case at trial would have cost millions of dollars and taken a very long time to resolve," Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz said in an Aug. 6 news release announcing the settlement. "This allows us to get back to the business of making guitars. An important part of the settlement is that we are getting back the materials seized in a second armed raid on our factories and we have formal acknowledgement that we can continue to source rosewood and ebony fingerboards from India, as we have done for many decades."

"This criminal enforcement agreement goes a long way in demonstrating the government’s commitment to protecting the world’s natural resources," said Jerry Martin, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. "The agreement is fair and just in that it assesses serious penalties for Gibson’s behavior while allowing Gibson to continue to focus on the business of making guitars.”

Gibson said the settlement follows many weeks of negotiations, and it leaves a bitter taste:

"We feel that Gibson was inappropriately targeted," Juszkiewicz said, adding that the matter "could have been addressed with a simple contact (from) a caring human being representing the government. Instead, the Government used violent and hostile means," including what Gibson described as "two hostile raids on its factories by agents carrying weapons and attired in SWAT gear where employees were forced out of the premises, production was shut down, goods were seized as contraband, and threats were made that would have forced the business to close."

Further, Gibson noted that the years-long investigation has cost taxpayers millions of dollars -- and put a "job-creating U.S. manufacture at risk and at a competitive disadvantage."

"This shows the increasing trend on the part of government to criminalize rules and regulations and treat U.S. businesses in the same way drug dealers are treated. This is wrong and it is unfair," Juszkiewicz said.

"I am committed to working hard to correct the inequity that the law allows and ensure there is fairness, due process, and the law is used for its intended purpose of stopping bad guys and stopping the very real deforestation of our planet".

As part of the settlement, the federal government acknowledged that Gibson cooperated with the investigation. Further, the settlement states that the Government and Gibson "acknowledge and agree that certain questions and inconsistencies now exist regarding the tariff classification of ebony and rosewood fingerboard blanks" under the Indian government's Foreign Trade Policy.

Gibson therefore will be allowed to continue importing exotic woods from India. "Accordingly, the Government will not undertake enforcement actions related to Gibson's future orders, purchases, or imports of ebony and rosewood fingerboard blanks from India, unless and until the Government of India provides specific clarification that ebony and rosewood fingerboard blanks are expressly prohibited by laws related to Indian Foreign Trade Policy," the settlement says.

(The fretboard or "fingerboard" of a guitar is the piece attached to the neck of the guitar, under the strings.)

Gibson, in a statement, said the company is "gratified" that the government "ultimately saw the wisdom and fairness in declining to bring criminal charges in this case."

The company also says true legislative reform is necessary to avoid what it calls the "criminalization of capitalism."

The privately held company is considered one of the top makers of acoustic and electric guitars, including the iconic Les Paul introduced in 1952.
- See more at: After Two Raids, DOJ Decides No Criminal Charges Against Gibson Guitar Company | CNS News

Cheers

[Timless Timber]

They did wrong, twice. #### 'em. We all have to stick by the rules, Gibson chose not to.

No, the charges were withdrawn.... (Because they would never have stood up in court). Granted it cost Gibson $300K to get the Govt to "settle" instead of going to court BUT (it would have cost then much MORE than that in lawyers and court costs to prove their innocence) - the facts are the India Govt has to decide if the fret boards were or were NOT in accordance with CITES rules for export - and NOW they are continuing to allow them to be exported - making the US CITES breach charges totally WRONG legally and morally!

Typical Yanks - trigger happy, gung ho, idiots.

A Heads up for you, timber is a renewable resource, it grows and regrows, when properly managed - and the management of it in India for harvesting and export under CITES regs is India's responsibility & problem....not USA wildlife wannabees, with itchy trigger fingers and an $$$ axe to grind.

A Passport for a guitar?

God give me strength - the inmates are in charge of the asylum!

Love my Gibson Les Paul Custom Shop Black Beauty, and anyone at customs or from Wildlife, can have it when they pry it from my cold dead hands!

My 2c.

[Ball Peen]

I've been to the US 3 times in the last 7 years and am going again next year. I only travel with a low rent fiddle and bow ( well setup and with strings worth more than the fiddle ), something I wouldn't worry about if it was lost, stolen, broken or now mistakenly confiscated.

[mandoman]

This Gibson news is old and has been done to death on many other Internet forums. It has nothing todo with CITES, none of the wood was listed on CITES when this occurred. It is all about the USA Lacey Act amendments which were originally introduced by some US politicians to protect Oregon loggers from cheap Chinese imports. Unfortunately it has had unintended side effects, and they have got themselves into a bit of a mess. If you read the report to congress on the implementation of the amendments you just shake your head. Warehouses full of paperwork, innaccurate filling out of forms, gross under resourcing, it just goes on and on. As far as we are concerned, the requirements for sending wood productions to the USA are not too onerous, so ranting and raving about it all does not help. All you need to do is to prepare the paperwork and sent it to your US customer, and make sure the wood was legally logged and is not CITES listed. They are in such a mess over there that all that will happen is the paperwork will be filed and the package will pass through Customs. I have sent a couple of mandolas to the US after all this happened with no problems. It is much more of a hassle for the US customer than for you because they are responsible for making sure it is legal. The biggest problem is with shell because shell is classified as wildlife so needs separate paperwork and there are additional fees. People in the music industry have tried to get some sanity into the shell situation, but US F&W have refused mainly because it would have wider implications because it is part of a much bigger picture.

I agree that a passport for music instruments is a good idea. It will make it a lot easier tosend vintage music instruments internationally.

[Ball Peen]

Pete has become the go to guy for this sort of thing. He has posted a lot of helpful info on this topic.

[Malibu]

That's interesting about the shell... I've sent a few inlays with Pearl and Paua to the US, but as far as I know, it's never been pulled up at customs.

I just checked the delivery tracking on one I just sent to Spain - It's through customs and flagged as 'attempted delivery', which usually means he wasn't home to sign for it.

[mandoman]

Spain should be fine. The US craziness does not apply. However, technically your shipment to the US was probably illegal and you were risking confiscation, and your customer could have bee fined. The legal way is (1) get your customer to purchase an import/export permit from US F&W. That takes several weeks and costs~$100. (2) provide the species name and quantity of the shell to your customer. They will then need to fill out the US F&W form and submit it. When the package arrives there will be an inspection fee of ~$100. Shell needs to be"formally" declared, but the postal system does not support"formal" declarations so if you send via the post, your customer needs to get a customs broker. If send via DHL they are a customs broker so no problems. I sent via DHL, but it is expensive. Now maybe you can understand why legal import/export of small quantities of shell to and from the USA has ceased. LMI and Stew Mac won't send any shell or parts containing shell internationally. Crazy, because the rest of the world now just gets their shell from somewhere else, and US shell supply business suffer.

[rhoads56]

No, the charges were withdrawn.... (Because they would never have stood up in court). Granted it cost Gibson $300K to get the Govt to "settle" instead of going to court BUT (it would have cost then much MORE than that in lawyers and court costs to prove their innocence) - the facts are the India Govt has to decide if the fret boards were or were NOT in accordance with CITES rules for export - and NOW they are continuing to allow them to be exported - making the US CITES breach charges totally WRONG legally and morally!

Typical Yanks - trigger happy, gung ho, idiots.

A Heads up for you, timber is a renewable resource, it grows and regrows, when properly managed - and the management of it in India for harvesting and export under CITES regs is India's responsibility & problem....not USA wildlife wannabees, with itchy trigger fingers and an $$$ axe to grind.

A Passport for a guitar?

God give me strength - the inmates are in charge of the asylum!

Love my Gibson Les Paul Custom Shop Black Beauty, and anyone at customs or from Wildlife, can have it when they pry it from my cold dead hands!

My 2c.

The charges were withdrawn, only due to Gibson settling the case to avoid further action.

These raids involved East Indian Ebony (not East Indian Rosewood as has been reported constantly in the press), the changing of the harmonized schedule classification of a product (twice) after it had been exported, the use of a proxy Ultimate Consignee, and other issues. Some of you may be familiar with the first set of raids in 2009, involving Madagascar ebony.

When criminal charges were brought, targets were likely to include a large German importer/exporter of rare woods, Theodor Nagel Gmhb & Co KG and its U.S. affiliates, including Luthier Mercantile, Inc. (LMI). It’s not widely reported, but LMI was the importer of the East Indian ebony involved in the August 2001 raids (not Gibson). LMI changed the harmonized schedule classification of the wood after export and before import, as well as the description. LMI failed to complete the Lacy Act declaration. LMI listed its affiliate, Nagel as the ultimate consignee at the address of the Red Arrow Delivery Service warehouse in Nashville. LMI attempted to file pre-dated Lacey Act paperwork showing Gibson as the ultimate consignee.


At Red Arrow, the federal government discovered a shipment of wood imported from India through Canada, addressed to LMI as ultimate consignee, but with an email to Red Arrow saying to disregard the customs paperwork and to treat Gibson as the ultimate consignee.


When wood was seized from Gibson in August 2009, it was because it was contraband based on LMI’s actions. Gibson had, and has, a cause of actions for monetary damages against LMI. Plant products that are imported without a Lacey Act declaration, or under false or fraudulent paperwork are contraband. Although whether that is a reasonable position, it’s entirely different from what has played out in the press based on Gibson’s press releases and a thousand Tea Party bloggers.


The government was no stranger to Theodor Nagel, the falsely listed ultimate consignee, either. Nagel was the target of the investigation that led U.S. Customs and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Gibson in 2009. And the combination of Nagel and Gibson raised eyebrows.


On September 29, 2009, the USFWS received information from an investigative audit of timber exports collected by a cooperating organization in Madagascar, which revealed that the large German wood import-export company Theodor Nagel Gmbh & Co. KG purchased at least one illegal shipment of sawn Madagascar ebony, exported by Thunam on March 27.


On September 30, 2009, the USFWC received a transcript from a recorded interview with Thunam in which Thunam stated that he had an exclusive arrangement to supply Madagascar wood to Theodor Nagel. The cooperative individual noted that Thunam’s wood was not inventoried or stamped as required under Malagasy law. Thunam stated the wood he supplies to Nagel cannot be legally exported from Madagascar and the Nagel is aware of the status of the wood and the illegality of exporting the wood. Thunam stated that he had traveled to German on many occasions to discuss the legal status, which had delayed timely exports.


If this seems unlikely, note that the October 2010 edition of National Geographic interviewed Roger Thunam as a lumber trafficker in Madagascar and he is quoted as saying he puchases and deals in illegally harvested lumber. Thunam is one of only two invididuals ever to be convicted for lumber trafficking in Madagascar; he had paid a settlement to be released from prison shortly before selling the wood that led to the first, 2009, raids on Gibson Guitars.


On October 5, 2009, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Senior Special Agent found one of the Thunam imports to the U.S. entering the Port of Newark, New Jersey. The purchaser was Gibson Guitar of Nashville. The government checked import records and discovered that Gibson had made other purchases of Madagascar wood from Nagel since the illegal export of wood from Thunam to Nagel.


On October 13, 2009, a USFWS Special Agent conducted a phone interview with Phil Guillery, the Director for the Forest Trust, an organization consulted by companies, including Gibson, to located sustainable sources of rare woods for the manufacture of musical instruments. Guillery had put together a trip, from June 9 through 20, 2008, for representatives from Gibson, C.F., Martin, Taylor, and sustainable wood groups, to tour Madagascar and gather facts to plan the establishment of a low-yield, high-value, managed forest in Madagascar. Guillery stated that all guiltar industry representatives, including Gibson representative Gene Nix, were informed that the harvest of Madagascar ebony and rosewood was illegal and that the export of these woods was also illegal under Malagasy law. Guillery stated that he had provided Nix and the others with a copy of the 2006 Interministerial Order making the harvest and export illegal (the government later found this copy from Guillery at Gibson during the 2009 raid).


Two banks are known to finance all timber exports from Madagascar: the Antalaha Brana of BFV-Société Générale and the Bank of Africa. Government reviews found all exports to Nagel from Madagascar came from Thuman as the exporter.


On October 10, 2009, a USFWS conducted an interview with Andrew Keck of International Resources Group, which hosted part of the June 2008 visit to Madagascar by Gibson Guitar wood specialist Gene Nix and representatives from Martin and Taylor. According to Keck, Nix and the others were informed specifically about Roger Thunam, a convicted Malagasy timber trafficker, and were told that he supplied illegal wood to Theodor Nagel Gmbh & Co. KB. Keck said Nix and others toured Thunam’s site and discussed the violations of law in his wood supply operations. Keck confirmed that all representatives, including Gibson’s Nix, knew that Thunam could not legally export wood to Nagel for sale to any of the companies present on the tour to Magasacar. They toured other sites.


The government has a transcript and digital recording of an interview with Gerald Rambeloario, Former Director General of Forests of the Republic of Madagascar from 2007-2009 (equivalent to the Secretary of the Interior for the United States), which was recorded in Madagascar on May 23, 2011. Rambeloario states that fingerboard ‘blanks,’ sawn to specific sizes are not finished products and are not lawful for export under Malagasy law. Rambeloariso also explains that he was involved in the Music Wood fact-finding trip to Madagascar that was attended by Gibson Guitar (which would be Gene Nix); that Gibson was well-informed about illegal logging; and that the purpose of the trip was to associate with a new partnership for the purpose of high-priced wood from communities that would manage the forests. What was discussed was an emerging program that required a relationship with Gibson Guitar. USFWS determined that some of the Madagascar ebony was in Gibson’s factories and some was stored at a Red Arrow Delivery Service Warehouse in Nashville.
On November 17, 2009, the government executed search warrants on three Gibson factories in Nasville and Memphis and on the Red Arrow Delivery Service Warehouse and confiscated Madagacar ebony, six guitars, and some computers sand files.


From the computers and files it was clear that Gibson knew of the illegality of exporting Madagascar ebony, and of purchasing it from Thunam. Gibson was seeking long-term goal but chose to buy from Thunam despite what Nix had learned in Madagascar.


Rememer that the trip took place in June 2008.


In a September 20, 2007 Trip Justification, Gene Nix wrote: “[t]here are no certified sources of ebony at present . . .” This was significant, because Gibson had a copy of the 2006 Inter-Ministerial Order which only permitted export of wood from certified sources. Gibson sought this wood. As Nix wrote in the Justification: “One of the challenges facing Gibson Musical Instruments in the company’s quest for increasing FSC7 certified wood input is the use of Ebony and Indian Rosewood in production.” According to Gibson’s SmartSource Action Plan, p.7, Gibson was looking for legal sustainable management and conservation measure which could be introduced as a supply chain with progression toward FSC Certification over a long-term time frame.


In a written review of the Madagscar trip, Nix noted that on June 15, 2008, he flew by private plane to Antalaha and visited with private companies in logging and processing, notably Roger Thunam’s business:

Key things we saw [at Roger Thunam’s Madagascar business]- large yard, wood in yard not properly stored; it is under temporary seizure and cannot be moved: substantial stored quantities of cut items for export including blanks for various instruments. Mostly ebony . . .

On August 26, 2008, Gene Nix sent an email to various Gibson executives stating:

I spent two and a half weeks in Madagascar this June [2008],I represented our company along with two other guitar manufacturers. . . . All legal timber and wood exports are prohibited because of wide spread corruption and theft of valuable woods like rosewood and ebony.”

JaraAla is a USAID-funded project that supports reforms in Madagascar to improve sustainable forest management. On February 25, 2009, JaraAla director Andrew Keck emailed Nix and others. An attachment to the email was a filed showing that only Thierry Body has been given the right by the Malagasy government to export ebony under special circumstances. The email noted that Thunam had no legal stock acknowledged by the Malagasy government under official inventory as required by law.

The same day, Gene Nix sent an email to Gibson President David Berryman, saying “[Maderas Barber] has been in the business a long time and may be able to help begin some legitimate harvests. Mr. [Roger] Thunam on the other hand should now be able to supply Nagel with all the rosewood and ebony for the grey market.” Nix brought back a video of Thuman’s manufacturing facility, which consisted of a couple of individuals with a table saw and a pile of logs. This facility does not appear to be able to rip the logs and produce the raw fretboard blanks Gibson which Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz showed to reporters and referred to as a ‘finished good.’ Gibson knew about the Inter-Ministerial Order of 2006 before the Madagascar Trip. An English translation was part of the trip materials. Problems with Madagascar harvests were discussed in a February 25, 2009 email from Gene Nix, a Review of Trip Program, a Concept and Background Note, the 2007-2012 Gibson “SmartSource” Action Plan, an August 26, 2008 email from Nix re: Trip to Madagascar, a June 23, 2008 emal from Nix to Clay Maxie, a Februay 25, 2009 email from Andrew Keck to Nix, the February 25, 2009 email from Nix to Berryman, and the Program for information-gathering trip to Magascar.


Gibson had long-term plans for a partnership to develop a sustainable yield of Madagascar ebony in partnership with Magadascar. But Gibson also wanted some right away. So Gibson chose to buy several shipments from a convicted trafficker, whom Nix, according to several witnesses, had not only been informed could not legally sell his wood, but had specifically discussed could not sell his wood to U.S. sources through Theodor Nagel. Nix noted that Thunam’s sources were under government seizure.


Gibson bought its wood from Thunam through Nagel anyway.


The importer used by Gibson, Hunter Trading Corporation, an affiliate of Theodor Nagel, Gmgn, had received a tariff ruling in 2005 that sawn ebony thicker than 6mm was to be imported as a Harmonized Schedule 4407 item. As a result, the ebony imported for Gibson was not imported as finished fretboards, but was declared and imported as rough sawn wood, contrary to Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz’s claims.


Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz states that Thunam had paperwork to export the Madagascar ebony (illegal traffickers tend to have forged papers, but Thunam wasn’t even that clever). First, after the confiscation of the Madacscar ebony, Theodor Nagel placed a notice on its website that it would no longer trade in wood from Madagacar unless the documentation was reviewed by a third party and determined to be genuine, suggesting its concerns about any paperwork it may have had from Thunam. Second, Thunam had no wood on the inventories of government records in Madagascar and his purported paperwork does not come from the required central ministry; it is a regional declaration (Madagascar was undergoing a coup around this period). Third, Thunam’s purported paperwork is not for the exportation of parts for musical instruments, or fretboards, or rough sawn blanks, but for finished roof joists and wall panes, and similar objects.


After the trip to Madagascar, Martin and Taylor ceased to import Madagascar ebony and rosewood. Martin ceased almost all, if not, the manufacture all standard models in Madascar rosewood. They rely on existing stores (note: Martin dwarfs Gibson in the manufacture of acoustic guitars and maintains huge stocks of wood; Martin makes many more square shoulder D-body-model guitars than Gibson makes acoustic models total) and the prices of their products using the same have rapidly increased. Note that Gibson’s major competitor is neither Martin nor Taylor; it’s Fender. The Gibson factory in Bozeman, Montana, which produces acoustic products and competes with Martin and Taylor, was not raided. Gibson makes few rosewood acoustic guitars. Most of its famous models (J-200, Hummingbird, Dove, Country Western) have either maple or mahogany back and sides.


The civil forfeiture action in the Madagascar ebony case (U.S. v. Ebony Wood in Various forms, No. 3:10cv00747 (Mid. Dist. Tenn.) has been stayed based on an affidavit and other information presented by an attorney in the Environmental Crimes Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division, on the grounds that to continue the civil action and permit Gibson to conduct discover would jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation (it’s more complicated; Gibson was likely on the cusp of being sanctioned or being dismissed for failure to act in good faith in discovery.).
A motion to stay the civil forfeiture action in the Indian ebony case (U.S. v. 25 Bundles of Indian Ebony Wood, No. 3:11-cv-00913 (Mid. Dist. Tenn.) is pending on the same grounds.

[kiwigeo]

LMI and Stew Mac won't send any shell or parts containing shell internationally. Crazy, because the rest of the world now just gets their shell from somewhere else, and US shell supply business suffer.

They won't ship paua to NZ even though that's where the bldi stuff came from in the first place....

[mandoman]

I think LMI would strongly deny some of what you statedthere. According to LMI the harmonized code was changed by a customs agent, and they attempted to get that corrected but were too late and by that time the shipment had been seized. LMI were the piggy caught in the middle. LMI are very careful about the wood theyimport into the USA, I have seen some of the documentation they demand fromtheir foreign suppliers. The dispute over the Indian Ebony was really over paperwork, the wood was NOT illegally logged. The Indian Ebony was eventually returned to Gibson, and shipments of Indian Ebony to the USA have resumed. The Ebony from Madagascar was an entirely different matter and was not returned to Gibson. It is very likely that was illegally logged. Since all this happened, all species of Ebony from Madagascar has been listed on CITES so nowadays it is illegal to export any unfinished Ebony from Madagascar without CITES documentation.