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President Donald Trump ordered a wide review of the wood supply chain on Saturday, arguing that reinforcing domestic production is vital for national security.
The President signed two executive orders focused on wood, wood and its derived products. In one order, he directs the Secretary of Commerce to start a revision of several months of commercial practices and the capacities of domestic production for these products. In a second order, he asks the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to review the existing guidelines and suggest updates that can increase the production of domestic wood.
The news comes as construction companies, which are often based on wooden products, already feel the effects of Trump’s commercial strategy. Many companies precipitated construction orders in January to advance possible rates. Others are proactively the contract clauses to protect the increase in supply costs.
The Trump administration, however, says that since both civil and military construction activities are based on wooden products, achieving a strong domestic supply base is essential for national security.
“Each year, the United States military spends more than $ 10 billion under construction,” the executive order was focused on wood trade. “The military also invest in innovative technology of building materials, including processes for creating innovative wood products such as cross -lined wood. The acquisition of these building materials depends on a strong domestic wood industry and a manufacturing basis capable of meeting both specific and broader civilian needs. ”
In commercial order, the Secretary of Commerce has 270 days to review section 232 Evaluation: the impact of foreign trade practices, whether they are necessary fees and quotas and the viability of increasing national production to meet the current demand and projected wood supplies.
Trump has used section 232 in the past to promote rates in other basic products, such as steel and aluminum, to argue that the domestic production of these products is essential for national security.
In the meantime, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture is asked to review the existing federal policies, including the permit processes and the forest management policies next year. The goal, according to the production -centered executive order, is to extend the United States’ capacity to exploit its national wood supply.
“The United States has a large number of wooden resources that are more than appropriate to meet our domestic wood production needs, but strong federal policies have prevented the use of these resources and have trusted us in foreign producers,” says the executive order.
