The Decorative Hardwoods Association is reporting that the 43-day government shutdown, which ended on Nov. 12, caused numerous problems including the extension of deadlines for decisions regarding hardwood plywood trade cases.

According to the DHA, the Department of Commerce has changed all deadlines in the hardwood plywood countervailing duty and antidumping cases against China, Vietnam, and Indonesia due to the government shutdown. The new deadline for the preliminary countervailing duty determinations is now December 5. The DHA added that the Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood recently filed "critical circumstances allegations, as imports of hardwood plywood surged during the case." This could make the preliminary duties retroactive by 90 days.

Keith A. Christman, President, DHA, wrote in his This Week's Insights column that the shutdown delayed the industries' "much-needed relief from the high volume of dumped and subsidized imports of hardwood plywood from China, Vietnam, and Indonesia. These illegally traded imports have resulted in hardwood companies using only 38% of their manufacturing capacity in 2024 and the subsequent closing of several mills, including Roseburg's last hardwood plywood mill mere weeks ago."

Roseburg Forest Products announced in late September that it had ceased operations at its Dillard Hardwood Plywood facility and will exit the hardwood plywood market.