Oregon Timber: Senator Wyden Blasts Unfair Pact with Canada

Calling the current pact with Canada, "unfair" Senator Ron Wyden is asking the United States Trade Representative to secure a better deal for the Oregon timber industry.

"A strong lumber industry is essential to the U.S. economy," Wyden wrote the trade representative on Wednesday. "Securing fair trade in lumber is of critical importance to domestic lumber manufacturers and their workers."

More than 30,000 people in Oregon are working because of companies somehow involved in the timber industry, said Wyden.

A report out last month from the Oregon Department of Forestry found that timber production in the state fell eight percent last year and pointed to an increase in Canadian imports as one of the reasons.

The report found that after two years of production above four billion board feet, the 2015 finally tally was 3.79 billion board feet harvested.

One board foot of lumber is one foot wide, one foot long, and one inch thick. To build an 1,800 square foot house, about 10,000 board feet is needed.

"The adverse impacts of Canada's subsidized lumber on U.S. producers, workers, and communities have been well documented," Wyden wrote.

"Subsidized and unfairly traded lumber imports continue to severely harm United States mills, workers, and communities."

The United States and Canada are currently renegotiating a deal that was first struck more than 30 years ago. If they don't come up with a new agreement by October, timber companies in the United States would be able to take legal action against Canadian companies.

"It is critical that U.S. trade laws be fully enforced against unfairly traded imports, including softwood lumber," he wrote.

Wyden's letter was signed by two dozen other senators - Democrats and Republicans.