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I wonder if this is part of Obama's new creation of job plans .. for Madagascar and India that is.

Guitar Frets: Environmental Enforcement Leaves Musicians in Fear

Nice interview video with the Gibson CEO

The core issue is Gibson's purchase of wood for use in guitar fingerboards. The wood is not raw, nor is it finished. Juszkiewicz explains that the wood is purchased from Madagascar when it is "two-thirds of the way" finished. Once purchased, the wood is brought to America, where it is finished by American workers.

According to the Obama administration, purchasing unfinished wood is a violation of Madagascarian law:

"So the government's contention is that because American workers are working on that and finishing it, that it is not a finished product and, therefore, initially Madagascar law - and now I guess they're contending Indian law - says you can't remove unfinished product from the market. So in other words, if a person in Madagascar had completed the work on that blank, it would be legal. But the fact that American workers are finishing the work in the United States, makes it illegal, as far as their concerned."

"The government's position is, that is the law of the land in Madagascar and they are saying that is the law of the land in India. That is not the case. The fact is, we have affidavits from numerous government officials - and this court case, specifically now, is for Madagascar wood. We have affidavits from virtually every govt official saying that it is legal, that their definition of what is legal is a fingerboard blank and its been exported within every certification that is necessary. So they have the arrogance to interpret Madagascar law differently than the people of Madagascar."

So this breaks down to three issues:

The Obama DOJ is enforcing Gibson to comply with what they believe to be Madagascarian law
The Obama DOJ is actually wrong about the law in Madagascar and Gibson has affidavits to prove it.
The Obama DOJ would seemingly prefer to have Gibson finish its products overseas by non-American workers

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