Gibson Guitar was raided for the second time by federal agents on August 24. An update from Gibson on Thursday said four search warrants were executed on the US manufacturer’s facilities in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee. Pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars were seized.
Gibson shut down for the day and sent workers home while the armed agents took over to execute the warrants.
This was the second raid; the first was in 2009.
Gibson, frustrated with the repeated assaults on their factories, has launched a petition asking President Barack Obama to resolve the inquiry.
Gibson asserted that the federal officials claim that Gibson violated the Lacey Act, which stipulates that a company cannot import wood in a manner that's against the laws of the country the wood is coming from. However, Gibson has complied with Indian law and no concerns have been raised by the Indian government.
The Lacey Act and subsequent amendments to the act put a manufacturer who imports materials in a no-win situation. Legal scholars have called for establishing a “due care” standard for Lacey, a law that is complex, obscure and mired in legalese. The law is costly to abide by, effectively shutting out any small business from a number of industries. Entrepreneurs in developing countries are stymied by such laws and often have no input into their own countries’ laws regarding exports.
The Lacey Act and amendments as they now stand can be wielded as a political weapon.
“Agents seized wood that was Forest Stewardship Council controlled,” Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz said. “Gibson has a long history of supporting sustainable and responsible sources of wood and has worked diligently with entities such as the Rainforest Alliance and Greenpeace to secure FSC-certified supplies. The wood seized on August 24 satisfied FSC standards.”
Juszkiewicz believes the Justice Dept. is “bullying Gibson without filing charges.”
The first federal raid was in 2009, but no charges have been filed and the materials confiscated in both that raid and the 2011 raid are still in the clutches of federal bureaucrats.
“Gibson is innocent and will fight to protect its rights,” Juszkiewicz said. “Gibson has complied with foreign laws and believes it is innocent of any wrongdoing. We will fight aggressively to prove our innocence.”
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