The White House is pushing a 25-percent increase in domestic timber production, part of efforts to reduce construction costs as well as the amount of wildfire fuel resting on forest floors.
The United States imports about 30 percent of its wood products, more than any other nation. The Trump administration aims to change that. It wants to reduce wood imports to five percent.
The top wood product exporter to the United States by far is Canada. The United States brings in more than $11 billion in wood from its neighbor to the north, about 85 percent of all U.S. wood imports. America imports about $24 billion in timber annually, including from countries such as China, Brazil, Vietnam, and Chile.
Canadian lumber tariffs nearly doubled under the Biden administration to 14.54 percent. The National Association of Home Builders called on the administration to suspend the tariffs.
Then, more recently, the Trump administration was set to bring tariffs on Canadian lumber imports up to 34.45 percent — before backing off, at least for the time being. So the current tariff rate on Canadian lumber remains at 14.54 percent.
On March 1, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders (see here and here) intented to increase domestic timber production. The executive orders apply to commercial logging on federal lands and call for a reduction in permit delays and regulations. They also call for the drafting of any necessary legislation to realize this goal.
The White House tasks several federal agencies with creating plans for boosting timber production. Those agencies include the Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Land Management, and the Forest Service.
The Trump administration also ordered the secretary of commerce to investigate how American dependence on lumber imports affects national security. One executive order reads:
Unfair subsidies and foreign government support for foreign timber, lumber, and their derivative products necessitate action under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act to determine whether imports of these products threaten to impair national security.
The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) and the American Loggers Council welcomed the news. AFRC President Travis Joseph called the White House’s actions common sense. Moreover, he added in a statement:
Our federal forests have been mismanaged for decades. Americans have paid the price in almost every way. Lost jobs, lost manufacturing, and infrastructure. Lost recreational opportunities like hunting and fishing, and access to our lands. Degraded wildlife populations, water, and air. Landscapes and communities devastated by wildfire. Our federal forests are facing an emergency. It’s time to start treating it like one by taking immediate action.
Joseph derided previous administrations for failing to prioritize the American timber industry. “America’s wood products should come from America,” he said, pointing out the obvious.
While the Forest Service manages 193 million acres, only one-half of one percent of that is used to harvest timber. For 20 years, tree death in national forests has exceeded timber harvest, according to the AFRC.
Housing Shortage
Meanwhile, a housing shortage persists in the United States. The Forest Service sells enough timber to frame 175,000 homes annually, but it’s capable of selling enough American-made lumber to frame more than 385,000 American homes per year, the AFRC said.
The National Association of Home Builders says material costs have increased 34 percent since 2020. Imports account for nearly $13,000 of the $174,000 worth of total building materials to build a new average single-family house. The White House says increasing domestic timber production should reduce construction costs.
Wildfire Control
The other major issue associated with timber production is wildfire control. During the last few decades, environmental groups have, in the name of protecting the environment, stymied through excessive litigation forest clearing. Litigation by environmentalists have essentially created more fuel for larger, more intense wildfires. Scott Dane, director of American Loggers Council, recently told Fox News that environmentalists’ obstruction of responsible forest management has resulted in millions of decimated forest acres.
The USDA says nearly 67 million acres of federal forests are under “a very high or high fire risk” and nearly 79 million acres are at risk or already experiencing insect and disease infestations. The Forest Service manages 144 millions acres in 43 states and is eyeing 43 million of those acres to use for timber production.
Environmentalists, of course, aren’t happy. They’re complaining that clear-cutting national forests will pollute the air and water, endanger wildlife, and worsen climate change. “Trump’s order will unleash the chainsaws and bulldozers on our beautiful, irreplaceable federal forests,” said Randi Spivak, public lands policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
