DHA® eNews - Decorative Hardwoods Files USTR Comments On Unfair Chinese Trade Restrictions On U.S. Veneer
On May 31, the U.S. announced tariffs of 25% on imports of select steel products and 10% on imports of select aluminum products from Canada. Canada responded by imposing surtaxes or similar trade-restrictive countermeasures on approximately C$16.6 billion in imports of steel, aluminum, plywood, and other U.S. products. Two HS codes of plywood, 4412.39 and 4412.99.90, are on the list for a 10% surtax. Annually, the U.S. exports $83 million of hardwood plywood to Canada and imports $200 million from Canada.
On Twitter, President Trump criticized Canada's softwood lumber and agriculture policies as examples of how the U.S. is being treated poorly by Canada.
The U.S. Trade Representative has requested that the U.S. International Trade Commission provide an assessment on tropical hardwood plywood from Indonesia for HTS codes 4412.31.41, 4412.31.4150, and 4412.31.4160. U.S. imports of tropical hardwoods from Indonesia, the Southwest Pacific, Brazil, and Africa fall into this category of thin plywood.
These thin products comprise about 50% of imported hardwood plywood from tropical trading partners. The likely outcome is that the 8% duty specific to Indonesia will be eliminated, making these products more competitive against other tropical regions that supply similar products. Decorative Hardwoods Association® has requested to testify.
Decorative Hardwoods filed comments that certain acts, policies, and practices of China are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce, and requested that veneer exports from China to the U.S. become subject to increased duties of 25 percent until China stops its unfair trade practices against U.S. veneer imports.
As of June 1, all regulated composite wood products must be TSCA Title VI compliant and meet all EPA regulatory requirements. Members of the Decorative Hardwoods Association®, representing over 95% of North American hardwood plywood producers, are TSCA Title VI compliant and offer certified compliant products. Decorative Hardwoods Association® will testify at an upcoming EPA meeting on technical issues specific to certification and testing.
Allen “Al” S. Hurtubise, 72, passed away on Sunday, May 6. He spent most of his life in Gladstone, MI, where he worked for Besse Forest Products Group until his retirement in 1999. Among his survivors are his wife, Paula, three children, and five grandchildren.
Presentations from the Decorative Hardwoods Association® 2018 Spring Conference and 97th Annual Meeting are available on our website. Download presentations by Grace Jeffers, Tim Brightbill, Federal Reserve economist Rick Kaglic, and more.
Learn more or register now for the new Decorative Hardwoods Association® online grading webinar. The four easy-to-follow sessions focus on hardwood fundamentals, specifications, standards, and grades. The $175 cost includes course materials worth $100.
AHEC has launched its online life cycle assessment tool which enables architects, designers, and their clients to find data on the carbon footprint, depletion of non-renewable resources, water contamination, and other environmental impacts associated with processing and transport.
Good news for those who work in a wood building: a recent study by the University of British Columbia and FPInnovations established a link between wood and human health in office environments. Researchers found that the presence of visible wood surfaces in a room lowers stress.
As builders and developers invest heavily in the Sun Belt and coastal communities, public-private partnerships are helping create opportunities in the Rust Belt. According to a Brookings Institution study, the freshwater coast - the 10,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline - could be the key to the economic renewal of the Rust Belt.
Source: The Brookings Institution
U.S. construction spending jumped 1.8% to a record high in April as home building rose at the fastest rate recorded in 24 years.
Experts predict rising mortgage rates, strong growth in building materials spending, and that the Trump Administration will control mortgage policy.
A U.S. Forest Service researcher expects the average number of acres burned in forest fires to double or triple by the middle of this century. His solutions include more controlled burns during moist conditions and increasing timber harvesting on public lands.
Australian emergency management authorities in Victoria have granted official approval for pilots to use night vision goggles to fight forest fires at night.
A new tethered harvest rig allows operators to work safely on steep slopes. Loggers will be able to work more quickly with less fatigue.