US Companies Organize to Defend Against Hardwood Plywood Trade Case

PORTLAND, OR--(Marketwire - Oct 10, 2012) - Greg Simon of Far East American and Gregg Wilkinson of Liberty Woods International today announced the formation of the American Alliance for Hardwood Plywood (AAHP), a coalition of US based companies that rely on a unique form of hardwood plywood imported from China. The formation of AAHP is in response to a trade petition recently filed by several of the world's largest producers of hardwood plywood that collectively comprise 80% of the US hardwood market. Simon and Wilkinson will serve as co-chairs of the newly created organization.

The trade petition filed with the US Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission last month by a group of large US based corporations, alleges unfair trade practices regarding the importation of a unique form of hardwood plywood that is not manufactured in the US and would otherwise be unavailable to US customers. The petitioners are demanding a 300% antidumping duty on imported Chinese hardwood plywood. Additional countervailing duties are also sought but the amount was not specified in the petition.

"People need to understand that due to several factors including fiber sources and the manual manufacturing practice employed by the Chinese, this product has significantly thinner veneer than any hardwood plywood manufactured in the US. For those businesses that manufacture products requiring a thinner veneer, this is their only option," said Mr. Simon.

Hardwood plywood is used by US manufacturers of furniture, cabinetry, components for marine, aircraft, recreational vehicles and hundreds of US made products. If the petitioned 300% tariff is approved, up to half the world's supply of hardwood plywood would be unavailable to US manufacturers, creating an economic advantage for overseas producers of these finished products.

Simon continued, "There are over one thousand US companies, most of which are small businesses, that rely on the importation of this type of hardwood plywood to be competitive in the global marketplace. The approval of this tariff would severely jeopardize these companies and the tens of thousands of US jobs they support."

The petition is currently pending review and will be debated at a hearing before the ITC in Washington D.C. on October 18, 2012 with a vote on whether to move the case forward expected on November 9, 2012.

The AAHP is an organization of American importers, distributors, manufacturers and retailers of hardwood plywood, along with other US companies who provide tens of thousands of jobs that depend on the availability of global resources. Read more at www.aa-hp.org.