The Secretary of Commerce has initiated an investigation to determine the effects on the national security of imports of wood products: timber, lumber, and their derivative products. This investigation has been initiated under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended. 

On March 11, President Trump signed an executive order that directed Secretary Harold Lutnick to begin an investigation into U.S. imports of wood products, an industry that the president sees as “essential to the national security, economic strength, and industrial resilience” of the United States.

The investigation includes looking into demand for timber and lumber in the U.S., if domestic production can meet domestic demand, the significance of major foreign exporters in meeting U.S. demand, as well as any predatory trade practices that affect the U.S.’s competitiveness in the industry.

Interested parties are invited to submit written comments, data, analyses, or other information pertinent to the investigation to the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security. This notice identifies issues on which the Department is especially interested in obtaining the public’s views.

Comments may be submitted at any time but must be received by April 1, 2025. Submit comments to the Federal rulemaking portal at www.regulations.gov. 

For more information, contact Stephen Astle, Director, Defense Industrial Base Division, Office of Strategic Industries and Economic Security, Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce (202) 482-2533, [email protected].