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The Myanmar Forest Certification Committee will introduce independent third-party certification soon to support the EU's due diligence requirements for compliance with the EU Timber Regulation, to contribute to negotiations on VPA (the bilateral timber-trade agreement between the EU and Myanmar), and to ensure that MTLAS, the Myanmar timber legality assurance system, is robust enough to satisfy other export markets' requirements.

U.S. imports of wood furniture grew to $1.69 billion in January, up 1% vs. January 2017. Imports from Indonesia and India grew as those from China and Malaysia slowed. China's furniture imports also grew; Chinese furniture products are predominantly low end.

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Slow start to year for US furniture and cabinet businesses

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China's share of U.S. hardwood plywood imports dropped to 18% in January, a dramatic change from its 60% share in January 2017 before the U.S. imposed antidumping and countervailing duties. Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia gained the most share but are still relatively small. Plywood imports from Indonesia were 29% higher than in January 2017 and the value increased by 40%. Imports of solid and engineered wood flooring declined from the previous month.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said on Monday that it would not investigate whether Chinese companies were avoiding tariffs on hardwood plywood imports by using pine on both the faces and backs, noting that the products named were excluded in the petition although had been included in an earlier investigation. Radiata pine log imports into China have surged over 42% from New Zealand and Australia from 2015 to 2017.