The Hardwood Federation produces a “D.C. Cheat Sheet” newsletter to keep the industry up-to-date on the latest news from Washington D.C. Check out the September 4th edition below and sign up to receive your copy.
Congress and Hardwood Federation Back in Action on the Hill: Both Houses of Congress are back in session on the Hill this week and the Hardwood Federation is there to greet them. Over the next two weeks we have a number of Hill meetings scheduled as we continue to press the industry’s case for trade policies and agreements that specifically support U.S. Hardwood companies. First up today was a meeting with House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson’s office. Our key message with him and with all of those we will meet with in coming weeks is that if hardwood exports are diminished by retaliatory tariffs related to U.S. trade policies, our companies need to be included in any relief measures provided to the wider agricultural community. The chairman and his staff are certainly sympathetic to hardwood industry challenges but have been honest with us that putting together a relief program will be very difficult. Meetings with Senate Ag Chair John Boozman’s team and other members of both House and Senate Committees are also scheduled. Several administration meetings are also in the works.
Tariff Relief Prospects: An administration official cracked opened the window to tariff relief in recent weeks creating a small bit of hope in the tariff impacted agriculture community, but it is a complicated situation with absolutely no guarantees. The funding source for past relief, the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is essential broke. Finding ways to refund the CCC is the first step if any relief is to be generated; any and all paths to finding funding are full of impediments that must be overcome. We will certainly gain more insight into what is and is not possible as we work our way through the meetings noted above.
Courts Strike Down Trump Tariff Strategy: Late last week the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals struck down President Trump’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs. The case will likely proceed to the Supreme Court. In a 7-4 decision, the appeals court affirmed a decision by the Court of International Trade that IEEPA does not authorize the sweeping, global “Reciprocal” Tariffs that President Trump announced on April 2, along with the Trafficking (fentanyl) Tariffs. The decision does not impact tariffs assessed under findings of 232 Investigations related to national security, including those impacting steel, aluminum, and copper. President Trump has asked that the Supreme Court take up the appeal no later than mid-September although deliberations could take months. Tariffs on imported goods will continue to be collected as the appeals process continues.
Source: Hardwood Federation