DHA eNews - Lumber Liquidators Settles Another Formaldehyde Lawsuit
Lumber Liquidators recently settled a $30 million class-action lawsuit with the Dana Gold group over its sales of imported Chinese flooring that failed to meet formaldehyde emission requirements. The settlement includes $14 million in cash and another $14 million in store-credit vouchers.
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the completion of its recent review and published the preliminary results which will continue the current countervailing duty rates for most Chinese exporters of hardwood plywood. A comment period will ensue.
The American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance supports the antidumping determination made by the Department of Commerce to address imported Chinese wooden cabinets and vanities. Mark Trexler of Master WoodCraft Cabinetry stated that this action allows the American industry to keep fighting for the more than 250,000 American jobs that hang in the balance.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that his country can take advantage of the U.S.-China trade war by promoting the Indonesian timber and furniture industries. Policies crafted to support his plan include value-added tax exemptions for logs and loosening certain licensing requirements of the timber legality assurance system (SVLK).
Vietnam's exports of manufactured wood products totaled $671 million in August, up 6% from July. Wood product exports from January through August of this year are 17% higher than the same period last year.
Scott Sandlin, Shaw's senior vice president of sales, competed in the Ironman race in Hawaii to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The race included a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a full 26.2-mile marathon.
Emily Morrow Home engineered flooring, on exhibit at the 2019 Made in America trade show in Indianapolis, has been featured on Fox & Friends.
HPVA Laboratories® has switched to using heptane to calibrate the smoke system for all ASTM E84 and ASTM E2768 tunnel testing. The change will increase precision and comply with new requirements of the testing standards.
Tree thieves caused a 3,300-acre forest fire in the western U.S. while trying to get rid of a bee's nest in a bigleaf maple tree. The two thieves, who expected to net thousands of dollars from the harvest and sale of the tree, were charged with multiple federal felonies related to their alleged scheme to steal bigleaf maple trees from a national forest.
At Forest Legality Week, the World Resources Institute demonstrated a new searchable database of documents that were previously difficult to obtain. The web platform promotes compliance with legal requirements in timber harvest and trade by compiling information from government, private sector, and third-party monitors. Currently focused on the Congo Basin, the tool will be expanded to other high-risk regions.
While the EU is cracking down on shipments of illegal teak from Myanmar, the EIA believes that the EU should also prevent traders from routing timber through third countries, review and change local laws, and impose substantial fines on companies that violate the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR).
As sea levels rise along the mid-Atlantic coast, so do ghost forests: stands of dead and bleached trees that have been left in the wake of rising saltwater. Oak trees and other hardwoods are often the first to die.
Source: New York Times