NEWS

In a win for U.S. kitchen cabinet manufacturers, the U.S. Court of International Trade remanded in part and sustained in part the negative evasion determination by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Chinese cabinets transshipped through Malaysia. Now, U.S. Customs must revisit its determination and take into account evidence of evasion.

PHOTO © GLENN FAWCETT, USCBP

After a tense few days in late December, the administration signed a continuing resolution to fund the U.S. government through March 14 that included a one-year extension of the farm bill. A key component of the farm bill is the funding of export promotion programs, including the international marketing activities of the American Hardwood Export Council.

PHOTO © AHEC

On January 2, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized the formaldehyde risk evaluation. EPA stated that formaldehyde presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health under its conditions of use. EPA did not identify risk to the general population from wood products regulated under TSCA Title VI. However, EPA's conclusions about occupational exposure to formaldehyde remain problematic.

The Hardwood Federation has published concerns about a potential trade war and retaliatory tariffs by China and other countries. The association pointed to a dramatic decline in hardwood exports to China following China's imposition of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. hardwoods from 2018 to 2020.

The Wall Street Journal recently published "The Not-So-Secret Way Around U.S. Tariffs." The story follows cabinets that were manufactured in China, rerouted through Malaysia, and ended up in U.S. kitchens. It has sparked an investigation by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, whose agents reportedly found cabinets marked as made in China while inspecting a Malaysian facility. This was part of a 2022 inquiry into allegations that a Chinese company was evading tariffs.