NEWS

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is cracking down on attempts to evade antidumping and countervailing duties on hardwood plywood products imported from China. The agency has already found significant amounts of hardwood plywood shipped from China that were misclassified as ready-to-assemble kitchen cabinets.

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The U.S. Court of International Trade upheld the U.S. Commerce Department's final determinations in the countervailing duties investigations of hardwood plywood. Chinese exporter Shandong Dongfang Bayley Wood Co. had appealed the application of adverse facts available - and very high countervailing duty margins - that resulted when the company failed to properly report its affiliations. In a short, clean opinion, the court upheld the Commerce Department's final determinations in full.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced that the alignment of the manufactured housing standard with TSCA will result in the removal of some requirements currently mandated by HUD that were not addressed by EPA.

EPA has confirmed that formaldehyde risk will be evaluated under TSCA, not IRIS, and that formaldehyde will be regulated directly under TSCA. Work on the IRIS assessment has been ongoing for nearly a decade.

Bernie Nadler, former president and long-time employee of Centre Lumber and Plywood in New York, has recently passed away. He was widely known as an ethical, highly respected distributor and friend of the decorative hardwood industry.

Timber Products announced that Tom Gennarelli has been appointed vice president of trucking and transportation. He will join the company's leadership team on April 22.

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Timber Products: New Leadership: Tom Gennarelli as VP of TP Trucking and Transportation