NEWS

The U.S. Trade Representative directed Customs & Border Protection to block future timber from a specific Peruvian exporter because of suspected illegal logging. Two Global Forestry Investments directors were charged with conspiracy to defraud and forgery, related to a scheme to promote investing in teak forests in Brazil.

Fraud and misrepresentation in forest supply chains are pervasive in the U.S., the world's largest importer of wood and wood furniture. Expert analysis of consumer products acquired from major U.S. retailers showed that 62% of tested products featured one or more fraudulent or misrepresented claims.

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The antidumping rates for Chinese engineered wood flooring imports have increased significantly for nearly all Chinese producers, who were previously paying zero antidumping duties. Now, as a result of the Commerce Department's final determinations, the antidumping duty margins have increased to 85.13% as a countrywide rate for 46 companies and a separate rate of 42.57% for 59 specific companies. These rates were announced by the Commerce Department this week.

Decorative Hardwoods Association (formerly HPVA) eNews Volume XII, Issue XIV: Expect Countervailing Duties On Kitchen Cabinets | New Zealand Logs Pile Up In China As Radiata Plywood Shipments To U.S. Plummet | U.S. Manufacturers Support Tariffs On China | The U.S. Is China's Largest Market For Wood Furniture | China Invests Less In The U.S.

The American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance is ramping up the pressure on the U.S. government to act to address unfair Chinese trade practices. The Department of Commerce will decide by August 5 on preliminary countervailing duty rates to offset Chinese government subsidies. The AKCA says China's unfair practices are hurting 250,000 jobs in the U.S. cabinet industry.

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