Could tariffs bring back the lumberjack?

For nearly a century, Washington’s timber industry produced everything from paper to 2x4s to the massive wood beams that hold up the Tacoma dome. But the industry’s been on a long decline since the 1990s.  

Now, President Trump wants to reduce foreign competition and increase U.S. logging to bring back those jobs. Could Trump’s strategy revive the timber industry in the Northwest? 

We went to a sawmill in the foothills of Mt. Rainier to find out. 

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes. 

Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.