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Business Owners Say Lacey Act Can Save Jobs

Heath E Combs -- Furniture Today, September 29, 2011

HIGH POINT - Gibson Guitar's attacks on the Lacey Act have left many small wood industry businesses wondering how a law meant to protect American jobs could be criticized by the guitar maker as an employment killer.
     Gibson's Nashville facilities were raided by federal agents on Aug. 24 for violation of India's trade laws. Several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars were seized.
     It was the second bust in two years for Gibson, which accused regulators of selective and overzealous enforcement of Lacey, which it said it could cost U.S. jobs.
     New amendments were added to the 111-year-old federal Lacey Act in 2008 to cut down on illegal logging around the world, defined as logging in violation of treaties, laws and regulations or logging to sell wood at unfair, below-market prices.
     Importers of wood furniture have been watching closely to see what implications the amendments have for the industry's supply chain.
     In a conference call last week, several American forest products industry and conservation group representatives spoke about Gibson and the effects of the Lacey Act changes.
     Jameson French, a board member of the Hardwood Federation and CEO of Kingson, N.H.-based hardwood lumber processor, exporter and distributor Northland Forest Products, said he didn't have much sympathy for Gibson. The company should have been able to monitor its wood sourcing, especially since the second raid involved the same import agency as the first case.
     "This is not such a huge deal for many people," he said. "Why weren't you more careful?"
     French said the federation represents about 13,000 businesses, mostly small non-industrial landowners who sell forest products. That business is directly affected by illegal logging's downward pressure on prices, he said.
     While Gibson has accused the federal government of selective and overzealous enforcement, Mark Barford, executive director of the National Hardwood Lumber Assn., said it's unlikely legislators will change the Lacey amendments.
     "We do not need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. If there's a problem let's deal with it," Barford said.
     Earlier this week, the U.S. departments of Justice and Interior released a statement saying that those who unknowingly possess an object containing wood that was illegally taken, and who wouldn't have known it was illegal, do not have criminal exposure. That should comfort owners of vintage guitars and other instruments, who had expressed concerns.
     The statement said the federal government is focusing on those who are removing protected species from the wild and making a profit by trafficking in them.
     Andrea Johnson, forest campaign director with the watchdog Environmental Investigation Agency, said that unlike Gibson, a number of wood sector businesses are calling for stronger enforcement of the new Lacey amendments.
     Northland Forest Products' French said the law is already having its desired effect - driving imports of wood products away from high-risk regions where woods are in danger of illegal logging and toward legal, low-risk areas.
     "It certainly has probably not been good for business in Papua, New Guinea, or parts of Indonesia. But it may have been good for other countries around the world who have stricter enforcement and much less risk of illegal material," French said.
     The NHLA's Barford said U.S. wood suppliers can't compete with artificially low priced wood obtained illegally. Much U.S. wood competes in a global market because the U.S. doesn't have enough demand locally to keep it competitive with artificially low prices, he said.
     "That the main thing, we want to compete on a fair competitive basis and we don't want to compete with wood that's harvested illegally," Barford said. "We need the protection of the Lacey Act. We need a fair playing field."

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