Lawmakers Oppose Illegal Timber Trade

[Washington, DC] Now some 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. Much like the movie “Blood Diamond,” which portrays diamonds as fueling a brutal civil war in West Africa, lawmakers hope to make U.S. consumers more aware of where their new bedroom dresser or hardwood floor comes from. As much as 30 percent of U.S. hardwood imports are from suspicious or illegal sources… Illegal logging costs U.S. companies as much as $1 billion a year in lost exports and reduced prices for timber products.