The Justice Department announced that Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson will lead the United States’ delegation to a major forestry meeting in China.
This ministerial meeting is part of the 2026 senior officials’ gathering for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Gustafson, who serves in the Energy and Natural Resources Division, intends to use the summit to increase global support for timber trafficking enforcement.
For the next week, the American delegation will prioritize the importance of investigating and prosecuting environmental crimes involving illegal wood products.
This marks a historic moment as it is the first time the Justice Department has been selected to serve as the head of the United States delegation for this specific ministerial event.
Other agencies joining the group include the State Department, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
The focus on APEC is critical because member economies account for more than half of the world’s forests and roughly 80% of the international trade in forest products.
Law enforcement officials are particularly concerned because timber trafficking has risen to become the third most profitable form of transnational crime globally.
Annual revenue from these illegal operations is estimated to range between $52 billion and $157 billion.
Gustafson emphasized the broad impact of these crimes, noting they represent both an economic and security threat to the United States and all APEC members.
He explained that the illegal timber trade directly harms American businesses, revenue, and market share while threatening good-paying jobs.
In a statement regarding the mission’s objectives, Gustafson highlighted the need for international cooperation to protect domestic industries.
“By sharing enforcement strategies at home and abroad, and by improving collaboration across the U.S. government, we are fighting the illegal harvest and trade of forest products,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gustafson.
The Justice Department representative plans to urge member economies to strictly enforce their own existing environmental regulations.
Many of these international laws are modeled after the Lacey Act in the United States, which serves as a primary tool for curtailing timber trafficking.
Gustafson summarized his intended communication for the forum with a direct call to action for the attending nations.
“My message at APEC is simple: member economies should enforce their own laws — many of which are modeled off of the Lacey Act in the U.S. — to curtail timber trafficking,” Gustafson said.
This initiative follows previous efforts by the Energy and Natural Resources Division to assist international partners, such as authorities in Indonesia, in identifying illegal timber and wildlife trafficking.