Dear Editor,
Please allow me to draw your attention to an article in the Woodworking Network. Lumber Liquidators, a large flooring sales company in the US, “expects to face criminal charges by the Department of Justice for allegedly importing illegally harvested wood, a violation under the Lacey Act. (See more at: http://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood-market-trends/woodworking-industry-news/production-woodworking-news/Criminal-Charges-Likely-for-Lumber-Liquidators-Lacey-Violations-294281531.html#sthash.RRcgqbh4.dpuf ) The article states that “Lumber Liquidators has been under scrutiny since 2013 when the 64-page report, ‘Liquidating the Forest’ by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency, alleged the company’s Chinese wood suppliers [were] using illegally harvested Siberian lumber in the manufacture of its hardwood flooring. That report may have prompted the Sept. 26, 2013, raid of Lumber Liquidators’ Toano, VA, headquarters and a retail outlet in Richmond, VA, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations.”
Given the Chinese way of doing business and influence in Guyana, I wonder when Guyana and Guyanese lumber businesses will be seriously affected. Facing illegal harvesting claims while trying to sell plywood abroad, Barama has worked feverishly to rectify that image for itself and Guyana, on the world stage. How can Guyana and other lumber businesses safeguard themselves from the stain the Chinese influence may inflict? Who is paying attention to this and who cares?
Yours faithfully,
F Skinner