NEWS

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. importers of hardwood plywood from Vietnam are circumventing duties on Chinese plywood. Coincidence?

In a sign that KCMA's concerns about circumvention are well-founded, U.S. Customs and Border Protection found that six companies are evading import duties on Chinese cabinets. Congratulations to KCMA on this victory and for standing up for U.S. manufacturers and workers against illegal and unfair trade.

In our last email, we reported on the proposed listing of additional bat species under the Endangered Species Act. Thankfully, twelve members of Congress have weighed in against these counterproductive restrictions on harvesting timber. These restrictions would harm rural communities without helping the bats threatened by white-nose syndrome.

If you have questions or comments, contact me. I look forward to hearing from you.


Keith A. Christman, President
Decorative Hardwoods Association

Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association announced that American Woodmark, MasterBrand Cabinets, and Cabinetworks Group—three of the largest cabinet manufacturers in the U.S.—have left the association after KCMA’s board of directors rejected their ultimatum to drop its litigation against Vietnam and Malaysia for circumvention of antidumping and countervailing duties. This litigation began in April, when KCMA asked the Commerce Department to conduct scope inquiries and anti-circumvention proceedings to address the transshipment of Chinese cabinets through Vietnam and Malaysia, in order to protect tens of thousands of American jobs in the cabinet industry.

Six U.S. importers were found to be "involved in a scheme to transship wooden cabinets from China through Malaysia to avoid the payment of antidumping and countervailing duties" by U.S. Customs. Customs began investigating after the American Kitchen Cabinets Alliance filed a complaint last October.

Twelve members of Congress have urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to drop additional restrictions made to conservation plans, stating that "bat species being targeted by these restrictions are not harmed by sustainable forest management" and that healthy forest management helps mitigate the harm caused by disease. The lawmakers asked USFWS to avoid taking action that hurts local economies, an "unintended consequence" of the restrictions.

Experts are forecasting a 37% increase in the consumption of primary processed wood products—including sawn wood, veneer, plywood, fiberboard and particleboard, and wood pulp—by 2050.

Hardwoods West is partnering with DHA member AHF Products to distribute its Bruce flooring line in the Northwest. Hardwoods West leadership stated that they have one goal: "to deliver the highest quality products where our customers need them."

Looking for a copy of the national consensus standards for hardwood and decorative plywood, engineered wood flooring, and more? DHA is committed to making it easier to do business with free, downloadable resources, from the national standard for due diligence in sourcing legal timber to our popular Where to Buy directory of hardwood plywood, veneer, and engineered wood flooring.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee recently reviewed forest bills that are intended to expedite effective forest management practices. The committee chair stated that "past mismanagement ... has ushered in an era of fuels and wildfires" and that "reduced harvesting has led to historic buildups of vegetation [and] fuel loads." Click below to see a complete list of the bills under review by the committee.

After two prescribed burns escaped control, causing the largest forest fire in New Mexico's recorded history, the U.S. Forest Service announced a nationwide, 90-day freeze on prescribed burns on USFS-managed forestland. Fire scientists believe this decision is a mistake as it will set the agency even further behind in conducting the prescribed burns needed to prevent wildfires.

A federal judge has blocked two timber sales in Oregon, citing concerns they would damage the habitat of the threatened northern spotted owl and hamper the owls' ability to find new homes in old-growth forests.

Canada's Minister of Natural Resources will pay more than $1.3 million to Flash Forest to plant more than one million trees over the next two years. Flash Forest will use drones, advanced seed pods, automation, and machine learning to plant in some of the most severe forest fire sites across Canada.

The newly discovered, full-growth American chestnut tree stands 65 feet high and measures 18 inches in diameter. Discovered by a deer hunter in Delaware, this is a "holy grail" find. Naturalists will collect the chestnuts in an attempt to increase the species' population.

The emerald ash beetle, a destructive pest that has killed millions of ash trees, has now been found west of the Rocky Mountains. The beetle is native to eastern Asia and was first spotted in Michigan 20 years ago.

What is the oldest tree in Great Britain?