The White House said the increase in timber production is directly linked to improved land management.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order and memorandum on the U.S. lumber industry on March 1, addressing what White House officials called a crisis in both supply and demand.
The executive order, entitled “Forest Liberation,” focuses on supply and proposes ways to reverse federal policies to secretaries of various departments and federal agencies, promoting and increasing the production of household timber and timber.
The White House said the increase in timber production is directly linked to improved land management.
The memorandum focuses on demand and directs Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to begin an investigation into the harm that could have been done to national security by importing wood.
“Our disastrous timber and timber policies, a legacy of previous administrations, cause wildfires and degrade fish and wildlife habitats,” said Peter Navarro, a senior counselor for trade and manufacturing.
“They will raise construction and housing costs and put America in poverty through a massive trade deficit caused by dumping exporters from Canada, Germany and Brazil into the market at the expense of both our economic prosperity and national security. That will halt today.”
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Navarro refers to the cutting and removal of wood, while wood refers to the process of converting those wood into planks and building materials.
The executive order will rely on departments and agencies heads, including methods to promote ways to promote the spread of existing forest managers’ clients for existing forest managers, including secretary of the Interior, secretary of agriculture, director of land management, US forest service, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and assistant managers in the fisheries to request government-wide operations. The Endangered Species Species Act (ESA) and the Tribal Forestry Protection Act.
The responsibilities of these agencies are divided into several deadlines, with timber production and healthy forest management planned within the next 30 days, with the final initial guidance issued for forest management in 280 days.
“All relevant agencies shall, to the maximum extent permitted by law, eliminate all excessive delays within their respective permitting processes related to timber production,” Trump’s order said.
“In addition, all relevant bodies shall take all necessary and appropriate measures consistent with applicable law to suspend, amend or withdraw existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, settlements, consent orders, and other bodies that place an undue burden on timber production.”
At the same time, the order said, “The agency is instructed to use regulations regarding emergency consultations to promote the country’s timber production to the maximum extent permitted under applicable law.”
White House officials have made it clear that timber refers to not only cutting new trees, but also the salvation and liquidation of already fallen trees. He said this not only reduces the cost of building materials, but also improves wildlife management.
“When you’re doing that, what you’re doing about forest management and what you’re doing is dramatically improving your fish and wildlife habitat, while also dramatically increasing your ability to prevent highly destructive wildfires,” the official said.
Meanwhile, Trump’s memorandum orders Lutnick to file a report within 270 days of his signature presenting a finding of whether timber and timber imports threaten national security, and offers recommendations on how to mitigate related security threats, including potential tariffs, export controls and incentives for increasing domestic production. He also said, “We need to submit policy recommendations to strengthen the U.S. and the timber supply chain.
During the investigation, Lutnick must assess current and projected domestic demand for wood and timber, and the extent to which domestic production can meet that demand. He also has to assess foreign supply chains and assess the “impact of foreign government subsidies and predatory trade practices” on the competitiveness of the industry, and how an increase in domestic production can reduce imports.
“We have this recurring problem that has led to a massive amount of overpower in the industry as a set of bad actors, globally, a punitive alliance, developed by the government to subsidize them and then dumped the product into the US,” White House officials said.
“We’re losing our own domestic manufacturing capabilities. I think it’s an industry that develops national security issues and that we should never really rely on imports.”
Officials added that the US’s reliance on critical wood has increased nearly 11 times from the early 1990s to the present, allowing the industry itself to create around 1 million jobs.
