Gibson Raided By Feds

[Townhallsavoy]

This was emailed to me.  Kind of crazy.

They are among the most sought-after musical instruments in the world. Everyone from Chet Atkins to Les Paul to Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin to Slash of Guns n’ Roses played them. A vintage 1959 Les Paul guitar can go for as much as $400,000. Almost every kid who has dreams of music stardom wants a Gibson guitars.

Gibson is also a company that is proud to put the “Made in the USA” label on its instruments. While the company has lower-end lines that are made overseas, every guitar that bears the “Gibson” label is made in the U.S. by American workers.

On August 24, armed agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Homeland Security raided the corporate headquarters and two factories of the Gibson Guitar company. The agencies took away 24 pallets of Indian rosewood and ebony, as well as a number of guitars and computer files.

The federal agents’ contention is that Gibson had illegally imported the exotic wood, which is used to make fretboards and bridges for their high-end instruments. Under the 1900 Lacey Act, which was amended in 2008 to include wood products, American companies must abide by the laws of source countries when importing products. The intent of the law is to protect endangered species of wildlife and plants. U.S. Fish and Wildlife claims that the Gibson wood – in the form of fingerboard ‘blanks’ -- was illegal to export from India and therefore illegal to import into the United States.

Now here’s the rub. While the feds say the wood – as imported – is illegal, had it been ‘finished’ by workers in India, it would have been perfectly legal to import. The wood itself was not banned, just the manufacturing process – or lack of it.

“I think they’re taking the position that we should be shifting these jobs overseas,” says Bruce Mitchell, the chief legal counsel for Gibson. “We have – probably 40 people in our factory here just at USA who are doing the inlays into the fingerboard … that are putting the fret on. If all that was to be done over in India, then …. those jobs would be lost.

What’s most puzzling about this case is that India is perfectly happy to ship the fingerboard ‘blanks’ to the United States. In a letter dated July 13, the deputy director general of foreign trade for India confirmed that “fingerboards made of rosewood and ebony is (sic) freely exportable.”

U.S. Fish and Wildlife offered no comment about the discrepancy. But people involved in the import and export of musical instruments and parts believe the US Department of Justice offered its own interpretation of Indian law. Even though India saw no reason for an enforcement action, the U.S. did.

“It is such an outrageous position – it has hurt Gibson tremendously – has criminalized Gibson and its workplace and its workers. It is an unsustainable position that they’re taking,” Mitchell says.

Something else to consider in all of this: Gibson uses the same wood, from many of the same suppliers and importers that nearly every other guitar company in America does. And they have not been targeted. You might ask – why?

Rewind the clock two years. Gibson was raided in 2009 and a shipment of rosewood and ebony from Madagascar was seized. Gibson argued that the wood was obtained through proper channels, but U.S. Fish and Wildlife argued that Gibson could not adequately prove that the wood came from legitimate sources. Again, the issue of ‘finishing’ the wood came into play. Had Gibson imported finished parts from Madagascar instead of ‘blanks,’ it would have been perfectly legal.

No charges have been filed as of yet, and Gibson is fighting in court to get its wood back.
It could be that the Madagascar issue put Gibson front and center on the Department of Justice's radar screen.

There was a discrepancy in the import of this latest shipment of wood. It was listed with an improper tariff code, which the importer, Luthiers Mercantile International of Windsor, Calif., claimed was a clerical error by a junior employee and tried to clear up. But rather than talk to the importer and Gibson about it, the Justice Department dispatched U.S. Fish and Wildlife and DHS agents to raid the Gibson compounds.

Gibson feels it has been unfairly targeted. “We are being singled out. Very much so,” says Mitchell. “Every music instrument company in the United States uses rosewood fingerboards. Period. And they’re in the same state – they’re buying from the same suppliers, they’re using the same shippers.”

Gibson has also been working hard to maintain proper sources of wood, working with the Forest Stewardship Council to insure its suppliers are certified. Gibson also works closely with the Rainforest Alliance on sustainable supplies of exotic woods. It’s a no-brainer for Gibson and other guitar manufacturers. If they can’t get the highly sought-after tone woods that artists crave, they just might go out of business.

Outside observers see a more sinister possibility in all of this. Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson’s CEO, is a Republican, who has contributed to Republican candidates (as well as some Democratic candidates). Other guitar companies, which have not been targeted, are led by Democrats. Is there a political motivation to all of this? Neither Mitchell, nor Juszkiewicz will offer an opinion, but consider what Juszkiewicz told Neil Cavuto on "Your World."

“You know we've been pretty low key. We're a guitar company. We've been manufacturing guitars. We've been involved in the environmental movement. We’ve been trying to do the right thing in terms of sourcing. We really don’t know why they are picking on us.”



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/07/does-white-house-want-to-ship-jobs-overseas/#ixzz1XIIDthp2

[Saniflush]

Why yes.  We have legislated ourselves right out of existence.

[Snaggletiger]

I saw that earlier.  Somehow I knew you'd be the one to post it, you axe man you.

[GarMan]

I heard about this weeks ago.  Their competitors do the exact same thing, but none of them have been harassed by the brown shirts.  These gubm'et regulations and shotgun enforcements are really getting ridiculous.  It reminds me of the stories that I've heard and read about Castro or, more recently, Chavez.

Meanwhile, the Obummer Administration has announced that they will begin enforcing US wage and labor standards for illegal aliens working illegally in the United States.  Did I forget to mention that they were here illegally?  If they're willing to go that far, why don't we just load 'em on a bus and ship 'em back to their native countries? 

[Saniflush]

Well because that would hurt someone's feelings.

[GarMan]

Uncle Omar appreciates that. 

[Jumbo]

Fuck Gibson for trying to keep 40 jobs for Americans.

[Saniflush]

Fuck Gibson for trying to keep 40 jobs for Americans.

Exactly. 

[Token]

The simple solution here is to hire 40 undocumented Hispanic workers to finish the product.  That should correct the problem.

[GH2001]

Read about this last week. Unreal. Enough is enough. November 2012 can't get here fast enough.

[BZ770]

I saved all Summer in 1995 and bought a Cherry Sunburst Les Paul Standard USA model.  Fuck Obama those Guitars are a work of art.  That guitar is one of most prized posessions I own.

[DnATL]

Obama is antagonizing Gibson, but won't do anything to Ibanez...

[Vandy Vol]

[Townhallsavoy]

Am I missing something?  Was this caused by Obama? 

[GH2001]

Am I missing something?  Was this caused by Obama?

No, not at all....

From another article:

"We had a raid with federal marshals that were armed, that came in, evacuated our factory, shut down production, sent our employees home and confiscated wood," Henry E. Juszkiewicz, CEO of the 117-year-old company headquartered in Nashville since 1984, said the next day. Yes, the full force of the federal government, in the form of the United States Department of Justice, fell on Gibson and confiscated wood.

So far, the feds haven't charged Gibson. "We're in this really incredible situation," Juszkiewicz said. "We have been implicated in wrongdoing, and we haven't been charged with anything. Our business has been injured to millions of dollars. And we don't even have a court we can go to and say, 'Look, here's our position.'"

The Man has hassled Gibson before, in 2009, when federal agents with automatic weapons confiscated ebony imported from Madagascar, apparently with legal grounding in the Lacey Act, a century-old endangered species law amended in 2008 to include plants. Gibson hasn't been charged for that either, but the federal government still holds Gibson's property.

A press release from Gibson said G-Men from the Obama administration this time targeted Indian ebony and that the DOJ "has suggested that the use of wood from India (that) is not finished by Indian workers is illegal, not because of U.S. law, but because it is the Justice Department's interpretation of a law in India." Gibson said the company has been sensitive to rapacious harvesting of ebony and rosewood, working with the Rainforest Alliance and Greenpeace to acquire woods certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Gibson hasn't been charged but these outrageous actions serve as the latest indictment of the Obama administration and its antipathy toward business. The National Labor Relations Board sued to stop Boeing from locating a plant in right-to-work South Carolina, leaving potential workers unhired.

The Dept of Justice. The same DOJ that thinks its ok for black radicals to threaten folks with night sticks outside a voting precinct if they don't vote for Obama. They turned a blind eye to that. But this wood that Gibson uses, well, my God, they have to stop this. 

Even the most hardcore democratic supporter has to shake their head over this.

[GarMan]

Am I missing something?  Was this caused by Obama?

There's been an increase in the enforcement of various government regulations since Obama has taken office.  Some of these regulations are new...  Some are old with slightly different interpretations by Obama's DOJ.  At a time when we should be enabling America to succeed, the Obama Administration is undermining our efforts. 

Did you hear about all of the firefighting planes that have been grounded over a petty contract dispute with Obama's Forest Service?  How many homes have been lost?  How many lives have been lost?
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=46009