Senior U.S. Customs officials have confirmed that Vietnam Customs has a "watch list" of Chinese products that are likely being circumvented through Vietnam and that plywood is on this list. Negotiations of a U.S.-Vietnam mutual assistance agreement are ongoing.

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The antidumping rates for Chinese engineered wood flooring imports have increased significantly for nearly all Chinese producers, who were previously paying zero antidumping duties. Now, as a result of the Commerce Department's final determinations, the antidumping duty margins have increased to 85.13% as a countrywide rate for 46 companies and a separate rate of 42.57% for 59 specific companies. These rates were announced by the Commerce Department this week.

A new study shows that the U.S. hardwood forest products industry employs over 1.8 million people and contributes $348 billion to the U.S. economy. The study provides detailed economic impact data - including jobs created - by hardwood plywood and veneer mills, sawmills, flooring companies, kitchen cabinet manufacturers, and more. 

In a victory for U.S. producers, the U.S. Department of Commerce has issued preliminary results of its 2016-2017 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on multilayered wood flooring from China. The American Manufacturers of Multilayered Wood Flooring, a domestic coalition of multilayered wood flooring producers, commended the Department of Commerce for the preliminary results: that imports of multilayered wood flooring from China were unfairly dumped in the U.S. market.

U.S. Customs & Border Protection have initiated a major hardwood plywood circumvention action: CBP will investigate whether a group of importers has been evading anti-dumping and countervailing duties on select hardwood plywood from China by transshipping Chinese white birch plywood though Vietnam. Evidence reviewed to date establishes a "reasonable suspicion."

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