NEW YORK — The Natural Resources Defense Council and two Peruvian groups have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government and three importing companies, accusing them of allowing or bringing contraband Peruvian mahogany into the United States.

Filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade here, the suit alleges that the wood, used largely in high-end furniture, is logged illegally.

Without naming furniture companies, it claims that importing of this wood violates the U.S. Endangered Species Act and an international treaty called the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.

The suit claims that the importing activity threatens wildlife and native communities in the Amazon basin, where the wood is harvested.

“Millions of dollars worth of Peruvian mahogany enters U.S. ports every year in violation of U.S. and international law,” said Ari Hershowitz, a NRDC project director in a statement. “While U.S. border patrol agencies look the other way, the rainforest and the communities that depend on them to survive are being plundered.”

The suit was filed by NRDC and the Native Federation of Madre de Dios and Racimos de Ungurahui, two Peruvian groups that represent communities in the Amazon region.

It names as defendants the U.S. departments of Homeland Security, Interior and Agriculture for allowing the woods to be imported. It also names three U.S. importers, Bozovich Timber Products of Evergreen, Ala.; T. Baird International of King of Prussia, Pa., and TBM Hardwoods of Hanover, Pa.

Speaking for sister companies TBM Hardwoods and T. Baird, Hugh Reitz, president of imports for the companies, called the lawsuit frivolous. He said the companies can document that they are importing the mahogany legally and are taking steps to have the suit dismissed.

“This is the first time we have dealt with anything like this,” he said, noting that the companies have been importing the wood from Latin America for 15 years. “We don’t know where it was coming from. It caught us by surprise. Our legal team has been working with the government and is getting the paperwork from the authorities, both U.S. and Peruvian, showing that this wood has been imported legally.”

He said little Peruvian mahogany is used in the furniture industry except in very high-end product. Most of the industry, he said, uses African mahogany.

Bozovich Timber Company officials apparently had not seen the filing and thus declined comment.
 
The plaintiffs are asking that the federal agencies immediately stop the import of all illegally harvested Peruvian mahogany. They also want the importers to forfeit all illegally imported Peruvian mahogany already in the United States.