NEWS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced its restructuring plan. It appears that more than half of the 4,600 employees in the Washington, D.C. area will be moved into one of five hubs: Raleigh, NC; Kansas City, MO; Indianapolis, IN; Fort Collins, CO; and Salt Lake City, UT. The nine U.S. Forest Service regional offices will be eliminated over the next year.

PHOTO © LANCE CHEUNG, USDA

In an interview with Floor Daily, DHA President Keith Christman outlined how the landscape for U.S. imports of wood products is fundamentally changing as the U.S. takes steps to begin to level the playing field. The hope is that this will create a more equitable market for U.S. manufacturers of decorative hardwoods. 

At this year's annual meeting, the DHA board of directors asked us to ramp up advocacy for the Forest Service International Programs Wood Identification and Screening Center (WISC). We did—and were successful. The program will be funded. WISC provides the scientific testing to verify species and sources of wood imports, and is an essential enforcement mechanism to prevent illegal logging from flooding U.S. markets.

On July 31, President Trump announced new reciprocal tariff rates. Tariffs on imports from Brazil were set at 50%. Tariffs for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia were set at 19%. A tariff of 15% will apply to most other countries. Goods found to be transshipped will be subject to a 40% tariff. For now, wood products subject to the Section 232 national security investigation appear to be exempt.

On July 31, President Trump raised tariffs on imports from Canada to 35%. However, decorative hardwood products should be largely unaffected, as goods qualifying for preferential tariff treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) are exempt and most decorative hardwood tariff codes are covered by the Section 232 national security review exemption from reciprocal tariffs.