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Last week, DHA members and guests gathered in Asheville, NC, for our 2026 Annual Meeting. I really enjoyed reconnecting with members and hearing from so many of you. Despite challenges from dumped and subsidized imports of competing products from Asia, our industry remains strong and vibrant, helping to sustainably manage American forests and provide jobs in rural parts of our country.

Boise Cascade recently pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Lacey Act for its role in a timber trafficking scheme to evade countervailing and anti-dumping duties on Chinese hardwood plywood. The company was fined $6.3 million.

Canadian plywood manufacturers have filed a new trade complaint, challenging dumping and subsidies on hardwood from China. Their previous case had disappointing results, due to relatively weak Canadian policy that has benefited Chinese manufacturers. This has allowed dumped and subsidized plywood products access to the North American market. Hopefully, this case will have a better outcome.

DHA continuously promotes decorative hardwoods and has collaborated with partners to develop compelling research to support powerful marketing claims. Our recent article in Surface & Panel Magazine outlines how decorative hardwoods are both sustainable and a deforestation-free choice. Our colleagues at the American Hardwood Export Council developed the American Hardwood Assured program that demonstrates that U.S. hardwoods are essentially deforestation-free, ironically inspired by the EU Deforestation Regulation.
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After years of rising hardwood plywood imports, this year started on a good note: January 2026 imports declined vs. last January. Imports from Vietnam declined the most. We are hopeful that the recent preliminary antidumping and countervailing duties and the Trump administration trade policies are limiting these dumped and subsidized imports.