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recognize the rights of nations to protect their native animal and plant resources from such 

 risks and many have risk assessment, inspection and control requirements, and mitigation 

 programs to address imported pests and diseases. 



The U.S. forest products industry, therefore, believes that APHIS has an obligation and 

 the authority to establish import inspection and control measures for unmanufactured wood 

 products. Such phyto-sanitary procedures and measures must be effective in order to protect 

 U.S. forests from exposure to potential threats. They must also be reasonable and cost- 

 effective in order to not inappropriately affect existing and future international trade in forest 

 products. 



We also agree with APHIS that pressures to increase importation of wood products 

 w\\\ most assuredly accelerate as artificial resource supply constraints occur as a result of 

 timber set-asides and environmental restrictions. Reducing the federal timber harvest by eight 

 (8) billion board feet is increasing price pressure on wood products that is causing private 

 landowners in all regions of the U.S. to accelerate harvest levels and on unmanufactured log 

 imports from other countries. This exceeds the annual production of approximately 6.5 billion 

 board feet from both New Zealand and Chile combined. 



We further agree that the current practice of inspection at the port of entry and 

 prohibition of imports based on insufficient information is not satisfactory, particularly in light 

 of the significant new interest in importing unmanufactured wood products into the U.S. 

 Importers need to be able to plan their transactions in an orderly manner to meet credible and 



