Gibson faces the music over illegal timber

10th August 2012


Related Topics

Related tags

  • Other ,
  • Manufacturing ,
  • Arts, entertainment and recreation ,
  • Business & Industry ,
  • Stewardship

Author

IEMA

US guitar maker Gibson has agreed to pay $350,000 in penalties for buying illegally-sourced hardwoods, but maintains the company was unfairly targeted by US authorities

The iconic Nashville-based company has signed an agreement with the US department of justice admitting it purchased ebony and rosewood that had been illegally exported from Madagascar. The deal means Gibson avoids criminal charges

Following raids on its premises in Nashville and Memphis in August 2011, in which hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of hardwood from India and Madagascar were seized, the company has been embroiled in a legal dispute with the US authorities.

Gibson was facing prosecution under the Lacey Act, a 100-year old conservation law, which was amended in 2008 making it illegal for US firms to “trade in any plant taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of … any foreign law that protects plants”.

An investigation by the US Fish and Wildlife Service revealed that Gibson was buying ebony grown in Madagascar for its guitars, contravening local laws introduced in 2006 banning the export of unfinished wood.

However, the firm argued that it had been “inappropriately targeted” by the authorities and that the raids were “violent and hostile”.

After protracted negotiations, the company agreed to a “criminal enforcement agreement” to settle the case and to pay $300,000 in penalties, a $50,000 community service payment and to forfeit any claim to the Madagascan wood impounded by the government – worth $262,000.

In the agreement, Gibson admits that despite a member of its staff visiting Madagascar in June 2008 and the firm being aware of the legal restrictions over timber exports, it continued to order and take delivery of wood from the country via a third party until September 2009. Gibson also concedes that it “should have taken a more active role and exercised additional diligence with respect to documentation of legal forestry practices in the areas of Madagascar.”

Alongside the financial penalties, Gibson must also implement a new compliance programme designed to strengthen its controls and procedures.

“Gibson has acknowledged that it failed to act on information that the Madagascar ebony it was purchasing may have violated laws intended to limit overharvesting and conserve valuable wood species from Madagascar, a country which has been severely impacted by deforestation,” said assistant attorney general Ignacia Moreno.

“Gibson has ceased acquisitions of wood species from Madagascar and recognises its duty under the Lacey Act to guard against the acquisition of wood of illegal origin by verifying the circumstances of its harvest and export.”

However, in a statement following the publication of the agreement, Henry Juszkiewicz, CEO at Gibson, said that the company had settled the case to avoid the costs of litigation.

“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,” he commented “This allows us to get back to the business of making guitars.”

Juszkiewicz did, however, reiterate his complaints that the raids on Gibson’s properties were unnecessary and that “the matter that could have been addressed with a simple contact by a caring human representing the government”.

He also highlighted that rosewood and ebony imported from India and seized in the raids would be returned to the company, and that Gibson would be allowed to continue to import wood from that country.

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

Facing the climate emergency challenge in local government

It’s well recognised that the public sector has the opportunity to work towards a national net-zero landscape that goes well beyond improving on its own performance; it can also influence through procurement and can direct through policy.

19th March 2024

Read more

Dr Julie Riggs issues a call to arms to tackle a modern-day human tragedy

15th March 2024

Read more

Disgraced environmental consultant Peter Lovebrother is another month nearer retirement…

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) strategy is based on optimistic techno-economic assumptions that are now outdated, Carbon Tracker has warned.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK’s new biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements could create 15,000 hectares of woodlands, heath, grasslands, and wetlands and absorb 650,000 tonnes of carbon each year.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s latest Public Attitudes Tracker has found broad support for efforts to tackle climate change, although there are significant concerns that bills will rise.

13th March 2024

Read more

Multinational corporations are undermining their net-zero commitments with excessive air travel and no plans to reduce ‘the low hanging fruit’ of carbon footprints, a study by Transport & Environment has found.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s climate adaptation plans are ‘inadequate’ and falling ‘far short’ of what is required, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned today.

13th March 2024

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close