FSC International distances itself from US lawsuit

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) International has moved to distance itself from the legal action being pursued by its US initiative against the American government.

FSC US is named as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the US Trade Representative, Department for Commerce and the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, claiming US$350m was steered into timber industry-dominated forestry foundations. The money is linked to the softwood lumber agreement, with FSC US saying the move could “significantly lower the bar for what is represented as sustainable forestry”.

It has brought the legal action in conjunction with Conservation Northwest and the Centre for Biological Diversity.

“The views expressed within the legal action are not necessarily those of FSC, excepting those that support established FSC policies and standards for responsible forest management,” FSC said.

“FSC takes no position on the softwood lumber agreement, nor the lawsuit.”

FSC added the lawsuit is evidence of the hierarchical nature of its model, with national initiatives taking independent action on specific regional and national issues.