It could be your new hardwood floor or coffee table, with a rich mahogany hue.
While the wood may look good, there is a strong chance it came from timber harvested illegally in places such as Honduras, Indonesia or Peru, labor and environmental groups say.
Now a bipartisan group of congressmen wants to crack down on illegal logging around the world. A bill introduced Tuesday would ban U.S. imports of wood products derived from illegally harvested timber.
Much like the movie "Blood Diamond," which portrays diamonds as fueling a brutal civil war in West Africa, the logging bill is aimed at reminding U.S. consumers to consider where their new bedroom dresser or hardwood floor comes from, said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., the bill's chief sponsor.
"Illegal logging is a problem that crosses national boundaries to affect communities, companies and ecosystems alike," Blumenauer said, adding that he hopes to "raise the profile" of illegal logging so that consumers pressure retailers to reveal the source of furniture and flooring, just as many do with so-called fair-trade coffee.
As much as 30 percent of U.S. hardwood imports are from suspicious or illegal sources, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission. Much of the wood is sent to China, where it is processed at low cost and then exported to the United States and other countries.
Illegal logging costs U.S. companies as much as $1 billion a year in lost exports and reduced prices for timber products, according to the American Forest and Paper Association, a trade group that represents the wood products industry.
In Oregon, illegal logging costs as much as $150 million a year, Blumenauer said. About 70 percent of North America's hardwood plywood - such as oak, birch, maple and cherry - is made by Oregon-based companies.
"I can't stress enough how pervasive this problem is," Blumenauer said at a Capitol news conference Tuesday. "It's destabilizing the environment, destabilizing trade opportunities and literally robbing national governments" of millions of dollars in lost taxes.
The problem can also be deadly.
Two activists were shot and killed in December in Honduras, allegedly by four police officers in front of several townspeople.
The men were local leaders in the Environmental Movement of Olancho, or MAO, which opposes illegal logging by timber companies. About 50 percent of timber in Honduras is illegally harvested; the U.S. is the primary market for its pine and mahogany products.
The logging bill, co-sponsored by Reps. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., and Jerry Weller, R-Ill., would extend the Lacey Act - which prohibits importation of wildlife taken in violation of conservation laws - to apply to wood and timber products. The measure would ban the import, export, purchase or sale of timber products made in violation of any domestic or foreign law or international treaty.
The forest and paper association stopped short of endorsing the bill, but said it welcomes increased interest shown by Congress in the issue.
Earlier this month, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., asked the International Trade Commission to investigate Chinese trade practices he said are hurting U.S. hardwood plywood manufacturers.
Last month, the U.S. Trade Representative filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization targeting Chinese subsidies of illegally harvested hardwood.
The forest and paper association warned that laws targeting U.S. imports could increase costs for legitimate producers while decreasing risks associated with illegal production.
"It is essential that policy responses do not create perverse incentives by raising the costs of 'legal' forest products, thus making illegal logging even more profitable," the group said.
A host of environmental, labor and business groups endorsed the bill, including the Environmental Investigation Agency, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council, United Steel Workers and Wood Flooring International.
The EIA, based in London and Washington, conducted undercover investigations in several countries to learn the extent of illegal logging. A man in Singapore told the group that timber smuggling is more lucrative than drug smuggling.
"Profits are high and there's no risk of being caught," he said, according to Alexander von Bismarck, campaigns director for the environmental group.
Such syndicates "are making the U.S. consumer an unwitting accomplice to brazen corruption, violence and natural resource theft," von Bismarck said.Associated Press via ABC News
