Bill seeks to curb trade in illegal timber

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers want to crack down on illegal logging around the world. Led by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., the group is seeking support for a bill to ban U.S. imports of wood products derived from illegally harvested timber.

As much as 30 percent of U.S. hardwood imports are from suspicious or illegal sources, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission. Much of the wood is sent to China, where it is processed at low cost and then exported to the United States and other countries.

Illegal logging costs U.S. companies as much as $1 billion a year in lost exports and reduced prices for timber products, according to the American Forest and Paper Association, a trade group that represents the wood products industry.

The logging bill would ban the import, export or sale of timber products made in violation of domestic or foreign law or international treaty.