NEWS

Two Chinese manufacturers and a U.S. importer are challenging the Commerce Department decision that expanded the scope of products subject to antidumping and countervailing duties on plywood imported from China. The contested products are plywood with face and back veneers of radiata or agathis pine.

U.S. imports of hardwood plywood from January - October 2019 are 7% lower than in 2018, despite an increase of 18% in October. Imports from Russia alone grew 39% in October. Imports from both China and Indonesian fell in October and are down 52% and 29%, respectively, from January - October.

Vietnam has ordered their trade, finance, and public security ministries to take urgent measures to fight origin fraud and illegal transshipment, according to a government resolution. Vietnam's 2019 wood exports are expected to total $11.5 billion, significantly higher than the $10.5 billion target - and 20% increase - set by the industry.

China will publish a list of tariff reductions that include some wood product categories when a Phase I trade deal is signed between the U.S. and China later this month.

Columbia Forest Products has sold its Cabinotch Division to Cabaxis, an affiliate of Phillip Crabtree, the creator of the cabinet box system. Greg Pray, Columbia's president and CEO, said that "the persistence of unfairly-traded imports - both cabinetry and hardwood plywood products - has impacted a wide spectrum of wood industry markets."

The EPA announced that it may add formaldehyde to a list that allows the agency to more carefully monitor and restrict its use, after a conflict between the EPA and the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. The House committee subpoenaed the EPA over potential conflicts of interest.

Save the date: the Decorative Hardwoods Association 2020 Spring Conference and 99th Annual Meeting will be held at the beautiful Sonesta Resort on Hilton Head Island, SC, from Sunday, June 7 - Tuesday, June 9. We look forward to seeing you there!

Protect your supply chain - and your company - by following the American National Standard for Due Diligence in Procuring/Sourcing Legal Timber and the companion "plug and play" management system to ensure your internal due diligence quality assurance program works to exclude illegal timber.

Seven industry professionals contributed to this three-part series on 2020 trends in residential design. This installment focuses on kitchen design trends: space planning and layout, storage, appliances, countertops, flooring, sinks, and cabinets.

Last month, Dutch police raided six locations where they seized teak from Myanmar. The teak allegedly entered Europe through the Czech Republic, where the enforcement of regulations is weak.

When Brazil banned the export of mahogany, Peru became the global source of mahogany. A new investigative report spells out problems for some U.S. importers and the FSC.

Authorities in Taiwan made 22 arrests and seized timber worth over $3.32 million in a raid that targeted an extensive - and despised - illegal logging ring, Taiwan's "mountain rats."

Major parquet flooring manufacturers in the EU have been purchasing oak from two Ukrainian companies, Tayfun and Tsunami, who have been accused of illegal logging. This is the latest report in an explosive investigative series about illegal logging in Eastern Europe.

Source: Phys.org

After initially being rejected as "not sustainable," construction of the world's first wooden football stadium was approved by the Stroud District Council in England. The eco-friendly stadium will be home to the Forest Green Rovers.

A new material that combines graphite with cellulose from wood pulp is lighter and stronger than many structural materials, including steel, titanium alloy, and carbon fibers. The graphite-cellulose composite could become an eco-friendly alternative for the construction of lightweight vehicles, aircraft, and body armor.