Two weeks ago Fish and wildlife service of the Justice department raided Gibson Guitars(read article for in depth details) manufacturing factories. When Gibson acquires there wood from certified dealers there was numerous pallets of wood that were confiscated by the Feds due to supposed violation of laws controlling the importation of protected woods for the manufacturing of certain guitar parts. This seems to be a trend affecting manufactures and owners of vintage musical instruments.
Controlling even musical instruments is an outrageous example of the trend of the government regulating all aspects of people's lives. The UN and US laws for sustainability calls for the control of all resources.
Besides the control of the raw materials for the manufacturing the control of labor resources is also of issue here. Gibson is renowned for its label and quality of American made. The developments in this case have lead to the fact that the DoJ has recommended that Gibson manufacture their guitars in Madagascar to avoid interference from the DoJ. Due to all the international trade agreements the DoJ is trying to make it illegal to work these protected woods due to the fact that they are not grown in America. Again America undermines its own businesses for the sake of upholding international laws and bureaucratic regulations. When will we stop this trend of the last forty years where we send all our work abroad?
To see the CEO of Gibson discuss the latest developments watch this latest interview: