The effects of the 2008 Lacey Act amendment on international trade in forest products

Abstract

Despite international efforts, illegal logging continues on a scale that is of global concern, with significant volumes of illegally harvested wood entering into international trade flows. Recently, major importers of forest products have implemented timber legality legislation prohibiting the possession and/or importation of wood and wood products that are of illegal origin. Drawing on bilateral trade data and using a quantitative, regression-based comparative case study methodology, the effects of the 2008 Lacey Act amendment on the international trade of forest products were evaluated. A data-driven method was used to create aggregate control groups for comparisons with countries affected by the policy. If the policy has been effective in reducing the volume of illegally harvested forest products being imported into the U.S., we would expect to see some unique differences in post-policy U.S. imports of wood and wood products from areas with high levels of suspicious wood in their supplies. Results from these analyses show few substantial differences in post-policy imports of wood products of suspicious origins into the U.S. However, the results suggest that the policy may be affecting wood imports by major exporters of finished wood products to the U.S.