NEWS

China's exports of wooden furniture to the U.S. fell by 13% in Q1. China's share of the U.S. wooden furniture market also shrank, at least in part due to import tariffs and antidumping and countervailing duties. The U.S. is China's largest export market, accounting for 25% of wooden furniture exports. 

The Trump administration announced that it will not renew the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The decision keeps the trade agreement in effect for another decade unless one of the three countries withdraws, and establishes annual reviews that allow significant renegotiation.

Read More: U.S. Declines to Renew USMCA Trade Pact → 

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 The updates will remove outdated requirements and make FHA financing more efficient for homebuyers and lenders.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.