NEWS

The top story for this eNews—and perhaps the year—is the Commerce Department's ruling that hardwood plywood from Vietnam made using Chinese materials is subject to the duties on hardwood plywood from China. These duties are often more than 200%. This is a big win for U.S. workers and the U.S. manufacturers of hardwood plywood in the Coalition for Fair Trade of Hardwood Plywood, which filed the circumvention case more than three years ago.

DHA has also joined a coalition that provided detailed comments on EPA's proposed emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants from the plywood and composite wood products industry. The proposed standards are the result of a court order that overturned EPA's previous determination that no further action was needed.

The journal Nature published a study by the World Resources Institute that claims forestry and forest products increase climate change and that forests should be left standing for climate mitigation. This doesn't factor in the data that shows that unmanaged forests tend to burn and will not simply remain standing in perpetuity.

Keith A. Christman, President
Decorative Hardwoods Association

The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued its final determination on the hardwood plywood circumvention case that was filed more than three years ago. Commerce ruled that hardwood plywood exported from Vietnam that is sourced from China is a product of China and is subject to the antidumping and countervailing duties on hardwood plywood from China. These duties are often more than 200%.

DHA collaborated with six industry organizations to respond to the EPA's proposed revisions to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for plywood and composite wood products. Our extensive response details why many of the proposed new requirements are not justified. The costs of the changes to our industry are estimated at $130 million—with limited or no benefit.

A recent article published in Nature by researchers at the World Resources Institute challenges the carbon benefits of forest products. Forest industry representatives disagree with many of the findings, which are largely based on forestry practices in other parts of the world. In the U.S., forest growth far exceeds harvests.

The U.S. furniture industry continues to outperform other U.S. manufacturing sectors. Eight industries reported growth in production, with furniture in second place. On the employment side, only six industries showed growth; of those, furniture was again in second place.

See the newly published interactive dashboard that provides a quantitative view of the North American forest products sector.

Roseburg's board of directors unanimously elected COO Stuart Gray as the company's president and CEO, effective October 1. Grady Mulbery, the current president and CEO, will retire on September 30. He will remain on the board of directors for the rest of the year before moving into an advisory role.

Wisconsin hardwood flooring manufacturer, From The Forest, has launched a new all-hardwood multi-ply core plywood line. Each board is made from red maple, birch, and poplar layers in thicknesses ranging from 9–18 mm.

This year, wildfires have already burned an unprecedented 25 million acres in Canada, far surpassing the previous annual record of 18 million acres, with more than one month of peak fire season to go. British Columbia alone has asked for 1,000 additional international firefighters to help combat the 350 fires that are burning throughout the province.

Source: Vancouver Sun

The Arbor Day Foundation emphasized that forests need to be well managed to protect their health and that thinning forests and reducing some of the fuel load will help control wildfires.

In a close vote, the EU parliament has chosen to support a significant new plan to fight climate change. Part of the European Green Deal, the plan sets ambitious climate and biodiversity targets with the goal of making the EU the global point of reference on climate issues.

The 21 members of the Northwest Forest Plan Advisory Committee will update a 30-year-old plan on how to manage and protect millions of acres of federal forests. The focus is on managing forests to be resilient to fire, invasive insects, and disease, and for effective carbon storage. The diverse team includes professors, tribal leaders, scientists, government officials, and the CEO of a timber industry trade group.

A new study underscored the need to protect forests from non-native pests amid climate change, stating that by understanding the relationships between climate, host species, and geography, stakeholders can develop plans to protect our forests and the invaluable benefits they provide.

What common hardwood tree is now threatened in Britain?