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Report
from
North America
More sawn hardwood from Brazil and Africa in July
Total sawn hardwood imports were up by 4% in August
compared to a 12% increase in tropical imports from the
previous month. Tropical imports were 23,195 cu.m.,
accounting for 40% of total sawn hardwood imports.
Balsa imports declined by 12% from July, but at 3,458
cu.m. imports were higher than at the start of 2013.
Sawn hardwood imports from Peru grew from just over
200 cu.m. in July to 1,414 cu.m. in August. Year-to-date
imports increased by 19% with the largest growth in virola
and other (not specified) species.
Imports from Brazil declined to 3,312 cu.m. in August,
primarily because of lower ipe shipments (1,888 cu.m).
Virola imports from Brazil grew to 598 cu.m. in August.
Imports from Cameroon climbed again in August,
reaching 3,429 cu.m. Sapeli imports accounted for 2,085
cu.m, up 77% from July. Congo/Brazzaville shipments
were at 1,832 cu.m. in August, up 51% from the previous
month. The main import species was also sapeli at 1,188
cu.m.
Malaysian shipments were slightly higher in August at
2,137 cu.m. Higher keruing imports (1,705 cu.m.)
accounted for much of the increase.
Imports from Indonesia grew by 43% to 1,018 cu.m.
Imports of all major species increased in August with the
exception of mahogany.
US imports of sawn tropical hardwood, by species (cu.m.)
Canada and EU reached political agreement on trade
deal
After four years of negotiations, Canada and the EU
signed an agreement in principle for a Comprehensive
Economic and Trade Agreement in October. The
agreement is expected to increase bilateral trade by €26
billion.
Once the agreement takes effect, almost all duties will be
eliminated, including duties on wood products. Wood
products are primarily shipped from Canada to Europe,
and the elimination of duties on plywood is of particular
interest to the Canadian industry.
Free trade negotiations between the EU and the US started
in June 2013.
Gap expected in collection of Chinese plywood
antidumping duties
The provisional antidumping duties on imports of
decorative plywood from China expire on October 30,
2013 since a six month limit exists for provisional duties.
Therefore the US antidumping duties on Chinese plywood
should not be collected on or after October 30.
A decision by the US International Trade Commission on
injury determination was expected for late October, but the
federal government shutdown in the first half of October
has delayed the process.
The International Wood Products Association (IWPA),
representing US importers, has pointed out that the sixmonth
period is not extendable and that it was not
extended during previous government shutdowns in 1995
and 1996.
As a result, there may be a long gap period after October
30 where no antidumping duties are collected until the
Department of Commerce completes the investigation.
Composite Panel Association criticises proposed
formaldehyde emissions regulations
The Composite Panel Association (CPA) has submitted a
list of desired changes to the national formaldehyde
emissions regulations proposed by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
The CPA has been a strong supporter of national rules to
ensure consistent industry regulation and equal treatment
of imported panel products.
However, the association is urging the EPA to change
several aspects of the proposed emissions regulations,
including the following:
The global third-party certification system should
be more stringent according to the CPA. The
proposed system would allow outsourcing many
decisions to third party certifiers or accreditation
bodies, including testing exemptions or reduced
testing requirements.
EPA proposes a complete stoppage of commerce
when there is an indication of non-compliance at
the panel production site. The CPA suggests
instead a formal notice to the panel
manufacturers‟ customers.
Panel laminators should not be required like
panel manufacturers to test emissions and be
certified. The CPA recommends chain-of-custody
use of certified panel cores.
Labelling and record keeping requirements
should be eliminated for products that contain
very small amounts of composite wood products,
according to the CPA.
The International Wood Products Association (IWPA),
representing US importers and manufacturers using
imported wood products, has submitted similar comments
to the EPA.
IWPA also recommends allowing imports an additional
three months after the regulations take effect to make up
for the longer lead time of imported products.
The proposed EPA formaldehyde emissions regulations
and the CPA and IWPA submissions are available here:
http://www.epa.gov/oppt/chemtest/formaldehyde/index.ht
ml
http://www.compositepanel.org/userfiles/filemanager/525
4836d6c722/
http://iwpawood.org/associations/8276/files/10%209%201
3%20Final%20IWPA%20Formaldehyde%20Comments.p
df
Generalised System of Preferences not yet extended
The US Generalized System of Preferences provides dutyfree
entry on up to 5,000 products from 127 designated
countries with developing economies.
The most recent agreement included plywood from
Indonesia, The program expired on July 31, 2013 and
despite support from the US government Congress has not
extended the program.
An extension of the program is expected and duties
incurred since July 31 will likely be refunded, but it is
unclear when Congress will pass the extension. Lapsing
the program creates pricing uncertainty and additional
work for importers.
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