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While the U.S. government has turned its attention toward the midterm elections, actions are still being taken that benefit our industry. Congress has introduced new bipartisan legislation to help spur demand for U.S. wood products. Whatever happens in the midterm elections, we are optimistic that more legislators will join in to support the forest products industry, which plays a vital role in the U.S. economy and improves the health and sustainability of U.S. forests.

Last week, I attended the Western Hardwood Plywood Producers Fall Meeting in Oregon. It was great to see so many DHA members and hear from other speakers about the improved health of the decorative hardwoods industry.

In our last newsletter, we highlighted the increasingly close relationship between the Canadian government and the EU. Now, the Canadian government is pushing back on the high unnecessary costs of implementing the EU Deforestation Regulation. Canada - and the U.S., for that matter - are both extremely low-risk countries for deforestation. Let's hope the Canadian government can leverage its new relationship to make EUDR more cost-effective and better tailored to deforestation risk.

The U.S. International Trade Commission recently published its final report documenting its determination that dumped and subsidized hardwood and decorative plywood from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam is harming U.S. manufacturers and workers. This clears the way for the Department of Commerce to impose the final duties.

The U.S. and Canada trade war got worse in recent weeks, as negotiations to avert President Trump's new 50% tariffs fell apart. Canada walked away and imposed retaliatory tariffs that matched the U.S. tariffs.