Environmentalists Sue Over Canadian Timber Agreement

(Seattle Post Intelligencer – Lisa Stiffler)

Environmentalists are filing a lawsuit this week against the federal government for what they say was an illegal and unfair agreement with Canadian leaders to settle a dispute over timber sales.

The deal funneled nearly $1 billion in tariffs collected on Canadian softwood lumber into the pockets of the U.S. timber industry and timber-friendly groups, said Peter Goldman, the lead attorney for those opposed to the deal. Instead, the money should have gone into the U.S. Treasury to be distributed by Congress, he said. “The U.S. cannot get around that legal duty by laundering the money through Canada.”

The environmental groups Conservation Northwest and the Center for Biological Diversity are filing their suit in U.S. District Court in Seattle and in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York. It names the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and other federal agencies as defendants. Read the complete article.