Lumber shippers pay fines for U.S. export violations
Two lumber shippers from Washington State have agreed to pay civil penalties for violating U.S. export control regulations.
McFarland Cascade Pole and Lumber Co. and The Oeser Co. failed to obtain export licenses from the Commerce Department when they shipped unprocessed western red cedar to Canada for further processing at wood treatment plants.
Exports of unprocessed western red cedar harvested from state and federal lands in the United States are controlled for short supply reasons and require a license for export to any destination outside the country.
McFarland agreed to settle charges relating to 1,136 unlicensed exports to Canada from November 1999 to February 2004. The company agreed to pay a $454,000 civil penalty. Oeser agreed to settle charges relating to 208 unlicensed exports to Canada during the same period and has agreed to pay a $83,200 civil penalty.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) said both lumber companies agreed to settle prior to a penalty determination hearing before an administrative law judge. In June the judge issued a summary decision as a matter of law in favor of BIS, ruling that the companies’ exports to Canada required licenses from BIS.