NEWS

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is cracking down on attempts to evade antidumping and countervailing duties on hardwood plywood products imported from China. The agency has already found significant amounts of hardwood plywood shipped from China that were misclassified as ready-to-assemble kitchen cabinets.

The U.S. Court of International Trade upheld the U.S. Commerce Department's final determinations in the countervailing duties investigations of hardwood plywood. Chinese exporter Shandong Dongfang Bayley Wood Co. had appealed the application of adverse facts available - and very high countervailing duty margins - that resulted when the company failed to properly report its affiliations. In a short, clean opinion, the court upheld the Commerce Department's final determinations in full.

After restricting logging in its own natural forests, China is now raiding the forests of Russia. China's insatiable demand for wood has stripped forests from around the world, from Peru to Myanmar.

To combat competition from China, Kitchen Kompact in Jefferson, IN is advertising that its cabinets are made in America by a family-owned business. The company's owner, John Gahm, said, "we have been reducing work hours, slowing production lines down, doing everything we can to hold on."

China's global construction boom may be causing unlawful labor practices. Federal prosecutors claim that a director of Chinese construction group China Rilin used forced labor - 14-hour days with no pay and threats of violence - to coerce Chinese laborers to build China's embassy in Washington, DC and other Chinese government buildings in the U.S.

Columbia Forest Products has released about half of its employees at the Trumann, AR facility and will close the hardwood plywood plant sometime this fall. The closure was attributed to unfair and imbalanced Chinese trade practices including the importation of Chinese cabinets.

Timber Products announced that Tom Gennarelli has been appointed vice president of trucking and transportation. He will join the company's leadership team on April 22.

Bernie Nadler, former president and long-time employee of Centre Lumber and Plywood in New York, has recently passed away. He was widely known as an ethical, highly respected distributor and friend of the decorative hardwood industry.

At the Decorative Hardwoods Association's 98th Annual Meeting in Santa Rosa, CA, May 5‑7, we'll hear directly from the experts about:

• The latest enforcement measures from U.S. Customs & Border Protection
• Updates on hardwood plywood and multilayered wood flooring antidumping and countervailing duties and ready-to-assemble kitchen cabinet cases
• New LEED credit for legal wood
• Highest risk areas and species for illegal wood
• New technologies to identify wood species
• Climate change and the impact on forest health and productivity
• Design trends for real wood and its imitators

If any of these topics affect your business (and which don't?), sign up today. For those who have already signed up, contact us to add a round of golf or a tour of the local wineries to your trip. We look forward to seeing you in beautiful Santa Rosa, CA!

This year, kitchens shine with bold, vibrant colors and a mix of metallic finishes. The latest survey results emphasize the importance of accessibility and the flexibility in design provided by column refrigerators.

Recent studies underscore the subtle - and less subtle - changes in kitchen designs and colors. See photos that show the latest way to incorporate bold colors, with an emphasis on blue.

Canadian wood products and forestry associations will receive nearly $8 million from regional and national government coffers to promote wood products.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced that the alignment of the manufactured housing standard with TSCA will result in the removal of some requirements currently mandated by HUD that were not addressed by EPA.

EPA has confirmed that formaldehyde risk will be evaluated under TSCA, not IRIS, and that formaldehyde will be regulated directly under TSCA. Work on the IRIS assessment has been ongoing for nearly a decade.

Beginning January 1, 2020, Germany will require that all products made from wood-based materials meet its new formaldehyde emission standard, DIN EN 16516. That means that furniture made with wood-based materials must also comply with the standard.

Shell will invest $300 million over the next 3 years in natural ecosystems as part of its strategy to respond to global climate change and reduce its carbon footprint by 2 – 3%.