by Iain Purdon » 26 Aug 2011, 10:43
US guitar maker Gibson says it'll fight a federal investigation into its imports of wood, following a raid on its factories earlier this week. Federal agents seized wood imported from India and closed the company's guitar factories in Nashville and Memphis. The company says the authorities are suggesting that the wood -- Indian ebony -- was illegally imported despite being certified by environmental campaigners. Gibson's chief executive said the company had broken no law -- it was only because the wood had not been finished by Indian workers that it was considered suspect. The firm was raided two years ago for importing wood from Madagascar, but the case has been dropped. (BBC, 0900, 26 Aug 2011)
Iain Purdon
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