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Last week, I had the great pleasure of meeting with members and hearing many expert speakers at DHA's 104th Annual Meeting. It's amazing to think that DHA has held that many annual meetings. I'm pleased and proud to help lead this great industry. I also had the pleasure of recognizing many long-term members who have led the industry for decades.

Trade policy continues to be uncertain and changing rapidly in both the U.S. and Canada. Canada recently issued a surtax remission for decorative hardwoods imported from the U.S. Trade representatives from Taiwan and Japan, among others, have visited the U.S. to discuss tariff deals, while others, including Vietnam, have had phone conversations. DHA is closely monitoring the outcomes of the discussions and their impacts on our industry.

Keeping up with changes to U.S. trade policy has been challenging over the last couple of months. The bottom line is that most reciprocal tariffs have been paused, leaving rates generally at 10%, except for China. In addition, USMCA-compliant products are still exempt. There is a good summary from the Wiley law firm below. Attorney Tim Brightbill of Wiley will join us at the DHA annual meeting to discuss trade policy and its impacts on our industry. I look forward to seeing you there.

DHA continues to advocate for fair trade in decorative hardwood products. The current administration is providing good opportunities for us to make our case and some unfortunate challenges for our Canadian trade. This week, we filed comments on how imports of wood products affect national security, highlighting the massive negative impact that unfair trade practices—particularly from China and other countries in Asia—have had on our members and our industry.

DHA continues to forcefully advocate for our industry in the realm of international trade. We recently sent comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on issues related to non-reciprocal trade. In recent years, many in our industry have successfully pursued unfair trade cases against China and Vietnam, but U.S. trade law has not kept up. Thus, in our recent comments, DHA advocated for updating trade laws.