Don't Let Europe Boss You Around! 🇺🇸🦅

3 Apr 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:02

In this YouTube monologue, Leigh Thomas Brown warns U.S. timberland owners that European buyers may impose strict EU‑origin requirements on timber sales. He explains that some mills operate on a “don’t ask, don’t tell” basis while others demand precise GPS coordinates and full compliance with EU regulations. Brown urges landowners to actively question potential buyers about their requirements, emphasizing that as U.S. citizens they have the right to know what is being demanded of their land and timber. He frames the issue as a matter of national sovereignty and personal value, encouraging owners not to accept the first paper‑company offer when under financial pressure. Brown also suggests that a collective response—spreading the message, organizing support, and even launching a GiveSendGo crowdfunding campaign—could help those being coerced by paper companies.

Chapters

there are other buyers out there, and some of them are more flexible on EU rules and some of them are less flexible. You just need to be asking questions. And I was told at the LAND conference there are some mills that are don't ask, don't tell. There's others that are every GPS coordinate, very serious stuff. You should be asking a lot of questions because as a U.S. citizen, you have the right to know what your buyer is going to say and do and what they're going to require of you because this is your land, this is your income, this is your country. Start fighting. The Europeans don't get to tell us how to behave, y'all, because you have value, your land has value, your timber has value. And frankly, even if you're in a squeeze, you don't have to take the first piece of paper shoved at you. In fact, I feel like if there were enough smart people, an episode like this would go viral, at least in pieces, and the nice people of the world would set up a GiveSendGo for you if you were being pressured by a paper company.