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Trade continues to be an active issue for many DHA members, as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments on Section 301 tariffs of 25% on Chinese hardwood plywood and engineered wood flooring. Coalitions representing many DHA members are commenting in support of these tariffs to help level the playing field.

Fall has been an active time, with DHA staff presenting at key industry events telling our industry's story, discussing opportunities, and highlighting the carbon reduction benefits of decorative…

Earlier this month, imports from Asia—particularly China and its partners in illegal trade—posed a different kind of challenge to the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association, an important association that represents many of our customers. Three large members resigned from KCMA after KCMA's board of directors declined to drop their circumvention case against Chinese cabinets being transshipped through Vietnam and Malaysia. This action comes on the heels of the Commerce Department's recent finding that U.S.

DHA and hardwood plywood made news in Washington this week as The Washington Post reported on Russian birch imports by way of China and Vietnam. Earlier this year, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, DHA reported about large volumes of birch plywood imports through Vietnam and noted this material was likely Russian. Now, a new study by the Environmental Investigation Agency has documented this activity. DHA also reported recently that the Commerce Department determined that imports of hardwood plywood from Vietnam were…

Top stories this week include the U.S. Trade Representative's decision to continue Section 301 tariffs on China after receiving a flood of comments supporting the extension. The Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood and the American Multilayer Hardwood Floors Manufacturers Coalition—both of which include several DHA members—filed comments urging the continuation of the 25% tariffs on Chinese products.

As the summer of 2022 unofficially comes to a close, Decorative Hardwoods Association and our industry partners have been active, opposing a new sweeping, universal definition of "old growth forests" that we see as unworkable and inconsistent with diverse forests.