NEWS

On June 23, the U.S. Department of Agriculture rescinded the 2001 Roadless Rule, which prohibited road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvest on about 60 million acres of national forest. USDA stated that this will facilitate fire prevention and responsible timber harvest.

PHOTO © USFS Chris Warner

On July 3, the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a comprehensive reform of the National Environmental Policy Act, consolidating seven separate rules into a single, streamlined regulation. This cut the regulatory text by 66%. The new regulation is designed to speed up projects from logging and wildfire mitigation to broadband and infrastructure development in rural communities. The interim rule is effective immediately.

The tax and budget bill, signed into law on July 4, includes business tax incentives to promote growth: the R&D tax credit, 100% bonus depreciation, and 20% deduction for pass-through business entities. It increases the maximum amount a taxpayer may expense to $2.5 million, restores a more favorable standard for calculating interest deductions, and raises the estate tax exemption to $15 million.

On July 2, President Trump announced a trade pact with Vietnam. Trump stated that the U.S. would impose a 20% tariff on goods from Vietnam and a 40% transshipping tariff on goods originating in another country and transferred to Vietnam for final shipment to the U.S. In 2023, Vietnam was found to be transshipping Chinese plywood to circumvent U.S. import duties.

On July 3, The U.S. International Trade Commission "determined that there is a reasonable indication that a U.S. industry is materially injured by imports of hardwood and decorative plywood from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam that are allegedly sold in the United States at less than fair value and subsidized by the governments of China, Indonesia, and Vietnam."