interesting: LACEY ACT IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE

[marcray]

interesting, if you didn't know already and not really sure where this belongs...maybe throw it into basses????

LACEY ACT IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE
| October 10th, 2008
Beginning July 1, 2009, imported musical instruments containing wood or other plant material will need to be accompanied by an import declaration disclosing the scientific name of the wood or plant (including genus and species), the country of origin of the plant material, the quantity of the plant and the value of the product. .
The new requirement was contained in an amendment to the federal Lacey Act making it illegal to import or possess any wood or plant product (with some limited exceptions) that is taken or harvested in violation of the laws of the country of origin. The amendment was added to the omnibus farm bill signed by President Bush in early summer.
Filing of the import declaration is being phased in over a number of months as Customs and Border Protection activates an electronic filing system. Beginning December 15, 2008 and continuing until the electronic filing system is available, importers may voluntarily file a paper declaration, though it is expected that few will opt to do so.
NAMM is representing this issues with key Administration officials seeking to gather additional information and to point out potential problems for the music industry with implementation of the new requirement. Among the still-unresolved issues are whethe r an import declaration must be filed for personal imports, for re-import of instruments (e.g., those taken out of the country for a concert and then brought back), imports which arrive via commercial carrier such as FedEx, UPS, etc., and how to deal with importation of vintage or antique instruments where certain required data may not be known.
Additional information may be obtained from James Goldberg in NAMM¢s Washington Office at 202-628-2929

[fenderx55]

I read about this in the New Yorker a week or two ago, and this is obviously the first thing I thought about. I have a feeling the deals in Asia are coming to a screeching halt.

[DudeistMonk]

Is this going to make my rosewood and wenge neck worth more? or less?

[mrokern]

Originally Posted by fenderx55

I read about this in the New Yorker a week or two ago, and this is obviously the first thing I thought about. I have a feeling the deals in Asia are coming to a screeching halt.

If they change their labor laws there to get around our requirements, why wouldn't they just change their harvesting laws?

[fenderx55]

Originally Posted by mrokern

If they change their labor laws there to get around our requirements, why wouldn't they just change their harvesting laws?

They have been. Essentially what's going on here, as I understand it, is that a bunch of wood in Asian-made consumer products is being illegally harvested from the dense protected forests of South eastern russia. Wal-mart just started purging their inventory of it, and it was quite a bit of furniture and the like. I wouldn't be surprised if the guitar manufacturers that make Essex et al. are using similar stocks of wood. After all, it's cheap.

This is mostly an environmental issue passed to curb deforestation of depleted wood sources etc etc, therefore, I don't see how there would be laws to change because this is the law that changes the laws that never existed. So unless you're forging your documentation, you have to use legitimate wood which is more expensive. Again, this is just what I remember off the top of my head from that article.

I know what Law I am. I'm the law playin' the law, disguised as another law!



for some reason this concept is hilarious to me.

[Unrepresented]

Seems like a reasonable thing. Protect our environment from the dangers of capitalist excess.