Timber Risk Score: 100 / 100 in 2019. The Timber Legality Risk Assessment for the United States contains an evaluation of the risk of illegality in the United States for five categories and 21 sub-categories of law. We found:
- Specified risk for 0 sub-categories.
- Low risk for 20 sub-categories.
- No legal requirements for 1 sub-category.
This page provides an overview of the legality risks related to timber produced in the United States.
33.8% (309.8 million ha) of the United States is covered by forests of which:
- About 24% is primary forest
- About 67% is naturally-regenerated forest
- About 9% is planted forest
Roundwood production totalled 413 million m3 in 2015. The forestry sector (including wood processing and pulp and paper) contributed USD 95.0 billion to the economy in 2011, which was nearly 0.6% of the GDP.
Risk may be present in US timber supply chains. The risks may relate to timber harvesting activities and trade and transport. If you are sourcing from the US you should take care to ensure the risks identified are not present in your supply chains, or have been sufficiently mitigated.
This risk assessment was prepared between 2016-2018 according to the FSC-STD-40-005. The approved FSC Risk Assessment can be downloaded in the FSC Document Centre. ONLY Risk Assessments that have been formally reviewed and approved by FSC can be used by an FSC candidate or certified companies in risk assessments and will meet the FSC standards without further verification.
Score: 67 / 100 in 2021
Rank: 27 out of 180 countries in 2021
Export ban on logs from Federal, State and other public lands west of the 100th longitude and Alaska, except timber surplus to needs. Export ban on logs from Federal lands in Alaska.
There are currently no armed conflicts in the United States according to the Council on Foreign Relations' Global Conflict Tracker.
CITES appendix II: Dalbergia spp, Guaiacum spp, Swietenia mahagoni.
FSC Certified Forest Area: 114,537,699 hectares (4 December 2019).
PEFC Certified Forest Area: 33,937,199 hectares (31 December 2019).
Information Gathering
Timber sources
- Find out the different sources of legal timber
- Determine which source type your timber comes from
Timber source types | Description of source type |
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Public forest |
Timber from production forest on public land |
Private forest |
Timber from production on private land |
Risk Assessment
Risk assessment summary
Legal rights to harvest |
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Taxes and fees
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Timber harvesting activities
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Third parties' rights
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Trade and transport |
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Risk Mitigation
Risk mitigation
We have not identified any specified risks and therefore have not suggested any mitigation actions.