ONE WORLD, ONE FOREST:
B.C. Forests Threatened by Stumpage Reduction
Recent action by the British Columbian government to increase the
subsidies for logging by reducing prices ("stumpage rates") requires our
immediate attention. Here's why.
The U.S. imports over 50% of the products from British Columbian
rainforests in the form of pulp, paper, and lumber. Logging in B.C. is
90% clearcutting, with an acre of Ancient Forest being clearcut every
sixty-six seconds, according to B.C. government statistics. Our impact
as American consumers on the remaining B.C. Ancient Forests is truly
staggering.
Since 1996, the import of softwoods from Canada into the U.S. has
been regulated by the U.S./Canadian Softwood Lumber Agreement.
This agreement was reached because the Canadian government has
historically subsidized production of lumber to even a greater degree
than it is subsidized in the U.S.
The point of the agreement from the standpoint of our government is to
prevent injury to our domestic wood products industry. However, we
support the Softwood Agreement because we don't want to see
Canadian forests sacrificed to meet U.S. demands. The real solution is
to reduce consumption and redirect U.S. markets to ecologically sound
alternatives, including sustainable forestry products, new technologies,
and alternatives to wood based products.
In fact, WAFC has taken the position that we shouldn't be importing
old growth from Canada (or anywhere else) at all. "Don't Log It,
Don't Use It, Don't Import It": using wood products made from old
growth is an unacceptable as making ash trays from polar bear paws.
Last week, the B.C. government reduced its stumpage rates on wood
from Coastal forests by $8.10/cubic meter, and $3.50/cu.m. on
products from Interior forests. This is clearly a violation of the
U.S./Canada Softwood Agreement. After a certain period of time has
elapsed, our government has the right to respond in various ways
including higher tariffs or reducing import volumes.
Whether the U.S. does respond will depend in part on how hot an issue
this is perceived to be by the U.S. Trade Representative. For that
reason, we are circulating the following letter for sign-ons. We
apologize for the short timeline, but we would like to get this letter out
next Monday morning, June 8. Please let WAFC know at (202)879-
3188, email <wafcdc@igc.org> by first thing Monday if you can sign
your group on. Thanks for your help.
The Hon. Charlene Barshefsky
U.S. Trade Representative
Washington D.C.
Dear Ambassador Barshefsky:
Please let us express our collective opposition to recent action by the
government of British Columbia to reduce stumpage rates on wood
products by $8.10/cubic meter from Coastal forests, and $3.50/cu.m.
from Interior forests.
We believe this action is a clear violation of the U.S./Canadian
Softwood Lumber Agreement. We do not want the U.S. to become an
even larger market for products made from the logging of British
Columbian rainforests.
The damage to old growth forests in British Columbia from current
logging is unacceptable, and we as Americans must curb our appetite
for these products and instead redirect our markets to ecologically
sound alternatives.
Not only does the recent stumpage reduction by British Columbia put
pressure on U.S. firms to adversely impact the environment through
downward harmonization, but it compounds the impact of rollbacks of
the B.C. Forest Practices Code and the lack of a Canadian Endangered
Species Act (ESA) that are already existing subsidies.
We understand that after a period of consultation, our government has
the right to respond to the action taken by British Columbia to lower
their stumpage rates. We strongly encourage you to adopt the position
that the U.S. will pursue unilateral action by further increasing fees and
reducing import volumes to compensate for the lower B.C. stumpage
rates.
We appreciate your attention to this issue.
Sincerely,
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