NEWS

Last year, the U.S. and EU restricted trade with Russia. In the face of those restrictions, the timber relationship between China and Russia grew stronger. Economic indicators—including a very small decrease in tariffs—suggest that China's economy may focus more on consumption than investment. Due to these factors and more, expect greater uncertainty in the global wood products market in 2023.

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The Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions, include funding that can benefit the wood products industry. Grants are available to help fund renewable heat generation technology, switching to alternative fuels, and increasing the energy efficiency of industrial processes.

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After increasing by 11% in 2022, the volume of U.S. imports of multilayered wood flooring fell by 26% in January vs. one year ago. Vietnam and Cambodia remain the two largest import sources, overtaking China. Vietnam, Cambodia, and China comprise 28%, 20%, and 17% of imports by volume, respectively. Imports from Vietnam grew by nearly 20%.

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The value of U.S. imports of hardwood plywood dropped by 69.6% as volume fell by 67.7% in January vs. one year ago. Imports rose by 12% in value in 2022 to more than $2.1 billion. Imports from Indonesia, the top source, sank by 59.9%. Imports from Vietnam and Russia fell by 86.3% and 82%, respectively.

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Last week, a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade upheld Section 301 tariffs on China, rejecting a massive lawsuit filed on behalf of 3,600 importers. The Court found that the U.S. Trade Representative supplied the needed explanation to support imposing the tariffs. This means that the additional 25% tariffs on hardwood plywood and multilayered wood flooring imported from China will remain in place. The U.S.