Source: United States Department of Justice
Note: Remarks as delivered. These remarks were delivered on July 28, 2026.
Honorable Chairman and esteemed delegates, I want to thank China for hosting the sixth Ministerial Meeting on Forestry. This is my first foreign trip on behalf of the United States and the Department of Justice, and I am honored to meet with all of you on these issues of importance to each of our economies.
I am enjoying my first time in Shenzhen. I had the pleasure of visiting Chengdu in 2009 as part of the Yale rowing team. It’s great to be back in China.
We are here in part to learn from each other. The United States practices the gold standard in sustainable forest and land management, which — over the past century — has resulted in an expansion of U.S. forestland: proof that forestry stewardship and economic growth can go hand in hand.
The United States recognizes the significant role wood products trade plays in the APEC region’s economic development, especially in rural communities. The only way to ensure this vital resource remains is to manage it responsibly.
Combating illegal logging and associated trade is a critical trade issue for the United States as well as the Asia-Pacific region. It’s also a national security issue, with illegal logging being the third most profitable transnational crime after counterfeiting and drug trafficking.
Associated crimes such as money laundering, tariff evasion, and corruption exacerbate the problem. All this leads to unfair competition for companies that play by the rules.
Criminals love illegal logging. They perceive a low risk of being caught and a high reward – with global annual value estimated at $52-$157 billion.
In 2008, the United States amended its oldest federal wildlife protection law, the Lacey Act, to address the import of illegal timber and other plants.
We are pleased that other economies have also criminalized the import of illegally harvested timber. The United States stands ready to support other APEC economies in implementing their own laws to combat illegal logging and its transnational trade.
We applaud China’s passage of its revised Forest Law in 2020. This law, when fully implemented, has great potential to modernize forest governance and enhance environmental protections. The United States looks forward to China’s implementation of Article 65, which prohibits the import of illegally harvested forest products.
U.S. Updates
I’d now like to share some updates from the U.S.:
- The Forest Service’s Law Enforcement and Investigations office recently created an International Operations Division to investigate Lacey Act crimes involving wood products exported from (or imported into) the United States and other crimes affecting the administration of Forest System lands. This expansion strengthens our subject matter expertise to combat timber trafficking and related crimes.
- The changes at the Forest Service complement the work of Homeland Security Investigations’ Natural Resources and Extractive Commodities Section which is responsible for addressing the exploitation of natural resources by transnational criminal organizations in violation of U.S. Customs law. Leveraging its network of domestic and international field offices, as well as robust partnerships abroad, Homeland Security Investigations employs a comprehensive approach to disrupt the illicit timber supply chain from point of origin to destination.
Within the Department of Justice, we have undertaken a historic restructuring to aggressively target international trade violations:
- In April 2026, the Department of Justice created the Fraud Enforcement Division to investigate and prosecute fraud, including a new task force focused on importers.
- This task force coordinates with our economy’s interagency Timber Interdiction Membership Board and Enforcement Resources Working Group to aggressively enforce against timber trafficking, and support our global partners.
- Both the trade fraud task force and the TIMBER working group are eager to share information and best practices with APEC economies on enforcement of forestry laws. They can also receive investigative leads and take action as appropriate.
On the enforcement front, I am pleased to announce two recent U.S. Department of Justice criminal actions involving illegal timber, which foreign law enforcement partners supported.
- First, Boise Cascade Company pleaded guilty to a felony Lacey Act violation for its role in a timber trafficking scheme to evade countervailing and anti-dumping duties. The company must pay a criminal fine of $6.4 million, representing twice the gross profits it derived from the illegal wood it sold, and implement a compliance plan.
- Second, Sunseeker International Ltd pleaded guilty to two violations of the Lacey Act for using illegally obtained Burmese Teak on yachts that it imported into the United States. The United Kingdom provided evidence for the investigation. Sunseeker is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
On the trade side, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative continues to successfully negotiate reciprocal trade agreements with commitments to combat, and cooperate to prevent, illegal logging and associated trade — including with Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, among other economies. These agreements illustrate our shared commitments to use trade policy to keep illegal timber out of the global supply chain.
Partnerships:
The United States is committed to working with our partner economies as well as industry and NGOs to combat illegal logging and associated trade.
On Earth Day, I hosted a roundtable that brought together the TIMBER Working Group, federal agencies, wood industry associations, and NGOs to raise awareness of the growing importance of timber trafficking investigations. Such engagements help to bolster the network of partners addressing this problem.
The United States is also engaging APEC economies to enhance our collaboration on enforcement of forestry laws. Here are two recent examples.
- In May, in partnership with our colleagues from Viet Nam, the United States convened a first-of-its-kind workshop in Gabon, which included Cameroon as well as a representative from the United Kingdom. Officials, industry, and NGOs from harvest, producer, transit, and consumer economies all participated in the workshop to combat illegal logging and associated trade and promote legal trade.
- In June, the United States and Indonesia completed a three-part counter timber and wildlife trafficking workshop series for civil society organizations, independent forest monitors, law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges. This workshop provided valuable insight into how each of our systems functions and areas where greater collaboration would make the most impact.
We plan to continue these efforts and welcome your input. The United States recently proposed an APEC project to enhance the capacity of APEC members to interdict the illegal trade of timber and timber products. We appreciate the co-sponsorship of Canada, Chile, New Zealand, and Viet Nam for this project. We also thank China for its endorsement. Looking ahead, we also hope to work with all of you to stand up a timber-focused law enforcement network within APEC.
Closing
In closing, once again I want to thank China for hosting this meeting. I have truly enjoyed engaging with you over the past two days and look forward to continued collaborations with all APEC colleagues. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, other members of the U.S. delegation, or U.S. embassy counterparts in your countries to continue the conversation. Xièxiè.