NEWS

On October 13, Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA) CEO Betsy Natz delivered a letter to U.S. House leaders asking them to continue the bipartisan House Select Committee on China. The letter, signed by members of the Alliance for Trade EnforcementNOW, highlights the committee's work to expose illegal trade practices, improve enforcement of U.S. trade laws, and create laws that combat trade crime.

On October 22, President Trump signed an executive order designed to lower the cost of single-family homes and mortgages. At the same time, the Treasury Department released new institutional investor rules. The executive order includes a pilot program to end mortgage insurance premiums for some borrowers and directs the Agriculture and Veterans Affairs secretaries to reduce interest rates on single-family home loans issued by their departments.

On October 22, legislators introduced the bipartisan Strong American Wood (SAW) Act. The bill is designed to enhance demand for U.S.-grown wood and support U.S. wood products. Key provisions include increasing federal purchases of U.S. wood and wood products and designating wood products as critical to national security.

On October 23, President Trump announced changes to Section 338 tariffs on Canada, removing many non-tropical veneer core hardwood plywood categories and adding a type of multilayer wood flooring, among other changes. Click on the link below to see the full list of changes.

PHOTO © DANIEL TOROK, THE WHITE HOUSE

Decorative Hardwoods Association (formerly HPVA) eNews Volume XIX, Issue XXI: Trump Eliminates Tariffs On Some Canadian Plywood | New Bipartisan Bill Would Spur Demand For U.S.