diff --git a/beets/ui/commands.py b/beets/ui/commands.py
index 6c8e25b85..68cc7b635 100755
--- a/beets/ui/commands.py
+++ b/beets/ui/commands.py
@@ -958,7 +958,7 @@ def import_files(lib, paths, query):
     if config['import']['log'].get() is not None:
         logpath = syspath(config['import']['log'].as_filename())
         try:
-            loghandler = logging.FileHandler(logpath)
+            loghandler = logging.FileHandler(logpath, encoding='utf-8')
         except OSError:
             raise ui.UserError("could not open log file for writing: "
                                "{}".format(displayable_path(logpath)))
diff --git a/docs/reference/cli.rst b/docs/reference/cli.rst
index da119d0f8..7737c4498 100644
--- a/docs/reference/cli.rst
+++ b/docs/reference/cli.rst
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ Optional command flags:
 
     Just point the ``beet import`` command at a directory of files that are
     already catalogged in your library. Beets will automatically detect this
-    situation and avoid duplicating any items. In this situation, the "copy
+    situation and avoid duplicating any items. A UTF-8 encoding will be enforced on your imported file. In this situation, the "copy
     files" option (``-c``/``-C`` on the command line or ``copy`` in the
     config file) has slightly different behavior: it causes files to be *moved*,
     rather than duplicated, if they're already in your library. (The same is