New GOP Bill In House Would Gut Lacey Act, Levy Tiny Fines On Illegal Hardwood Importers

A proposed bill would gut the Lacey Act, undermining an amendment that bans import of illegally logging forest products, says a coalition of environmentalists and woodworkers in a letter addressed to members of Congress.

The bill, introduced last month by Jim Cooper, Marsha Blackburn, and Mary Bono Mack, would grant an exemption to pulp and paper importers from Lacey Act requirements, while reducing fines for non-compliance to a pittance for "first time" offenders no matter the size of the infraction.

Opponents say the proposed legislation would hurt domestic industries and fail to discourage illegal logging abroad. “Workers in the domestic pulp and paper sector have really been hit hard by illegal foreign competition,” said Roy Houseman of the United Steelworkers in a statement.

The bill is a response to a campaign by Gibson Guitars against the federal government's enforcement of the Lacey Act. Authorities have twice raided Gibson's facilities in Nashville, Tennessee for allegedly importing wood products sourced illegally. The first infraction was for Madagascar ebony purchased from a German company under investigation for wood trafficking, while the second seizure was linked to the import of fingerboards made of Indian rosewood. Gibson contends the action was politically motivated (Gibson's CEO is an outspoken supporter of conservative causes) and says the government has yet to produce evidence of the alleged crimes.

EDIT

http://news.mongabay.com/2011/1105-cooper-blackburn.html