NEWS

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced 14 policy changes to the Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance program, designed to lower costs, ease regulatory burdens, and improve affordability. The updates will remove outdated requirements and make FHA financing more efficient for homebuyers and lenders.

On June 23, the chair of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee published the draft text of legislation to reauthorize the Farm Bill, anticipating markup before the August 10 Congressional recess. The Senate version is very close to the bill approved by the House on April 30 and includes key forest industry priorities: support for working forests, forest health, and wood innovation.

PHOTO © AMY LI, USFS

The U.S. Ambassador to the EU published an op-ed on June 24 that echoes many of the forest product sector's criticisms of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The ambassador stated that the EUDR, when enforced against countries that pose no deforestation risk, will increase compliance costs with little or no environmental benefit.

In June, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal concluded that there is a reasonable indication that decorative plywood imported from China, which is subject to ongoing dumping and subsidy investigations, has or may cause injury to the domestic industry. This decision allows the antidumping and countervailing duty process to advance to a final determination and to the potential imposition of duties.

On July 6, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized amendments to the national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants for plywood and composite wood products. The revised rule sets emission limits and related work practices for formaldehyde and other regulated hazardous air pollutants. The changes were required because of litigation.

PHOTO © CAPITAL TESTING