NEWS

The Play by the Rules Act will crack down on unfair trade practices and outright cheating by nonmarket economies like China. U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) are co-sponsors. Dr. Cassidy stated, "The United States can outcompete any country in the world if the rules are applied to both countries. This has not been the case between the United States and China, and it has hurt the American worker."

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced its affirmative final antidumping and countervailing duty circumvention rulings involving exports of hardwood plywood from China, finding that hardwood and decorative plywood with face or back veneers of radiata or agathis pine circumvent existing orders. U.S. Customs and Border Protection will continue to collect the antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese hardwood plywood.

Former USTR General Counsel Stephen Vaughn analyzes the Trump administration's trade policy in a recent Trade Talks podcast.

Source: Trade Talks (podcast)

Beasley Flooring Products has entered into a letter of intent to buy Mohawk Industries' solid and engineered hardwood flooring facilities in Melbourne, AR. Mohawk will partner with Beasley to continue to provide solid and engineered wood flooring to customers.

Masco Corporation will sell its cabinetry unit, which produces KraftMaid and Merillat cabinets, to ACProducts for $1 billion. The buyer is owned by American Industrial Partners.

Written by Ang Schramm, A Complete Guide to Hardwood Plywood and Face Veneer is the authoritative resource that provides a comprehensive explanation of hardwood plywood and face veneer components, manufacturing, and troubleshooting.

The reality of the export-import market and shift in foreign direct investment in the wood industry in Vietnam shows that China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea are operating many large-scale wood product projects in Vietnam. China topped the list with 40 such projects.

IKEA is nearly doubling its U.S. forestland with two recent land acquisitions. The company bought 42,000 acres in East Texas after acquiring 18,000 acres in Southeast Oklahoma.

Invasive insects and pathogens have wreaked havoc on ash and elm trees over the past few years. Researchers at Purdue University showed that the carbon storage lost to invasive insects each year is the same as the amount of carbon emitted by 5 million vehicles.

The secret plan to militarize India's forests was created with input from WWF-India's CEO. When the plan became public, however, thousands protested to Indian authorities, who then scrapped the plan. Under the secret plan, millions of tribal people would have been stripped of their rights and forest guards would have been given extraordinary powers.

Seven people were identified and charged in connection with a large-scale illegal logging operation near Mozambique's Zinave National Forest, after the arrest of a zebra poacher who was supplying them with meat.

Trending colors in 2020 will reflect nature, serenity, and comfort and include a range of greens. Natural wood cabinets will include ash, walnut, pine, and other woods with a more subtle grain. For flooring, hardwood and wood-like materials join tile and linoleum as the go-to products.

The National Register of Champion Trees lists the largest and most impressive trees in the U.S. each year. Click below to see the latest list and photos.

The de Havilland Mosquito fighter, made with birch plywood, was probably the most versatile aircraft used in WWII. Some versions had top speeds of more than 420 mph. Nearly 8,000 were built, including over 1,000 in Canada. Commonwealth Plywood's Husky Plywood in Ste-Therese, Quebec was a major supplier.

Source: Wikipedia

A Swedish company is building 492' wood turbine towers using laminated veneer lumber. This will reduce mass by about 30% and cut manufacturing costs by about 40% as compared to tubular steel towers with a base diameter of six to seven meters. LVL towers are easier to ship, too.