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 August 20th edition below and sign up to receive your copy.
Tentative U.S.-Canada Deal Struck to Avoid Increased Tariffs: On Tuesday night, President Trump issued a Proclamation delaying implementation of 50 percent tariffs under Section 338 on a range of Canadian goods until 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, August 22.
The agreement, if finalized and signed by both countries would avoid additional tariffs of up to 50 percent on hundreds of Canadian imports. The proposed tariffs were announced last month, and cited Canadian tariffs on autos, provincial bans on US alcoholic beverages, and long-standing U.S. complaints about dairy export pricing as discriminatory under Section 338. The tariffs were set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. on August 19.
The proclamation, and a post Tuesday evening by the president, cites progress in negotiations as the basis for the three-day reprieve. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also released a statement saying, “Substantial progress has been made, although there is important work still to be done.” Over the last few days, all signs toward a final agreement have been positive, but clearly, the situation is fluid and could change at any moment. The Hardwood Federation team will keep you apprised of developments.
USDA Removes Roadless Rule Restrictions on National Forests: This week, the U.S. Forest Service filled a proposed rule to rescind the entirety of the national Roadless Area Conversation Rule, a one-size-fits-all restriction that many the forest products industry viewed as a barrier to wildfire risk reduction work across large swaths of America’s national forests.
Enacted in 2001, the Roadless Rule restricted road construction and limited the Forest Service’s ability to carry out critical active management work within inventoried roadless areas. Today, that includes more than 44 million acres of the 193-million-acre National Forest System. The rescission is intended to prioritize local agency decision-making over regulatory rules that are the same across the country, regardless of specific land management issues and needs.
The Hardwood Federation has been a long-time proponent of reasonable, science-based forest management rules and activities, including timber harvests, that support the health of our national forest system.
Source: Hardwood Federation