Hardwood Plywood Coalition Files Trade Petitions Against Asian Imports

Washington, D.C.-based law firm Wiley, on behalf of the Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood, has filed antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission, seeking relief from unfair trade practices by Indonesia, Vietnam, and China. These petitions have significant implications for the U.S. economy, in which hardwood plywood plays a critical role in producing numerous downstream products.

The Coalition represents a substantial majority of hardwood plywood production in the U.S., and its members include Columbia Forest Products, Commonwealth Plywood, Manthei Wood Products, States Industries, and Timber Products.

The petitions, filed May 22, allege that the governments of Indonesia, Vietnam, and China are actively subsidizing their industries through dozens of programs, including providing products at subsidized rates and multiple grant, tax, and lending programs. Additionally, hardwood and decorative plywood producers from the three countries are dumping their products into the U.S. at margins of up to 133.7% for Vietnam, 202.8% for Indonesia, and 474.2% for China, according to the petitions.

These unfairly traded imports have caused material injury to the domestic hardwood and decorative plywood industry, including reduced production, shipments, profits, and employment. Without trade relief under U.S. AD/CVD laws, the petitions argue, the domestic industry and the thousands of American jobs it supports are in jeopardy.

“Domestic hardwood and decorative plywood manufacturers have been harmed for decades by dumped and subsidized imports from Indonesia, Vietnam, and China,” said Timothy C. Brightbill, co-chair of Wiley’s International Trade Practice and lead counsel to the Coalition. “Trade remedies are necessary to restore fair competition for this essential U.S industry.”

The Coalition members operate more than a dozen facilities across the country, including in Arkansas, California, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The Wiley team representing the Coalition also includes International Trade partner Stephanie M. Bell and associate Stephen A. Morrison.