China’s timber use ravages forests

Much to the distress of their US competitors, Chinese manufacturers are charging very low prices for their furniture. They can do so because, as environmentalists are increasingly discovering, they benefit from large, cheap supplies of illegal timber imported from all over the world. Much of this timber comes from rare hardwood forests, which are being depleted by illegal logging. China has responded to environmentalist fury over its timber imports by defending the effectiveness of its law enforcement and border control systems, as well as by putting the onus on its trading partners to uphold the integrity of their exports. But until its competitors succeed in pushing through enough anti-dumping legislation to check China’s ability to flood foreign markets with the fruits of its low-cost lumber, efforts to keep out illegal wood imports are unlikely to be forthcoming - YaleGlobal