WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Trade Representative (USTR) responded to a petition submitted by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) requesting the United States government take action under the US-Peru Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to stem the flow of illegally harvested timber into the United States. In April 2012, EIA released a multi-year investigative report, […]
In November 2011 China hosted the annual Asia-Pacific Forestry Week meeting conference at an impressive and vast centre near the Olympic Stadium in Beijing. During the week-long event participants from around Asia and beyond discussed a range of issues, encompassing China’s impressive reforestation programme to the links between deforestation and climate change. The meeting coincided […]
Gibson Guitars has finally faced the music and acknowledged that it did, in fact, import illegal wood in violation of the Lacey Act.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a Criminal Enforcement Agreement with the Department of Justice, Gibson Guitar Company today acknowledged responsibility for importing illegal wood into the United States and incurred penalties, totaling a minimum of $600,000, including the forfeiture of wood taken from the protected forests of Madagascar. Scroll down for DOJ’s full press release. “The resolution of the […]
Decision celebrated by forest products industry, unions, musicians, and conservationists; bill would have threatened American jobs, boosted illegal logging CONTACT: Deborah Lapidus, [email protected], 703‐967‐5741 Glenn Hurowitz, [email protected], 917‐386‐3571 July 25, 2012—The Republican leadership cancelled a vote originally scheduled for this week in the House of Representatives on H.R. 3210, the “RELIEF Act.” A broad coalition of forest products […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A unique alliance of musicians, former Bush administration officials, and forest products industry executives provided testimony for a congressional hearing today in support of the U.S. Lacey Act and in opposition to two controversial proposed bills to weaken the law. Held by the House Natural Resource Committee’s Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans […]