Lawmakers seek to cut trade in illegal timber

WASHINGTON – Concerned that hardwood imports increasingly are derived from illegally harvested timber, a bipartisan group of lawmakers moved Wednesday to crack down on illegal logging around the world.

Bills in the House and Senate would ban U.S. imports of wood products derived from illegally harvested timber.

The Senate measure, introduced Wednesday by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and co-sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, builds on House legislation this spring by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore. Blumenauer modified his bill Wednesday to conform with Wyden’s.

Both measures are aimed at low-priced hardwood products that often are harvested from illegal sources, processed at low cost in China and other countries, and then imported to the United States at prices below what U.S. manufacturers can charge.

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 association has endorsed the Senate bill, along with the Hardwood Federation, Environmental Investigation Agency, Sierra Club, Greenpeace and other groups.