TDUK SupplyingTimber Issue 8 DIGITAL - Magazine - Page 45
———— ILLEGAL PLYWOOD INVESTIGATION ————
EU LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION
INTO SOFTWOOD PLYWOOD
IMPORTS
T
he EU Commission’s
investigation will
determine whether
the product is being
dumped in the EU, and whether
the dumped imports have
“caused injury” to the Union.
While the investigation is
ongoing, all imports of Brazilian
softwood plywood will need to
be registered at EU borders. This
will enable European customs
o昀케cials to collect additional
duties retroactively, should they
be imposed as a result of the
Commission’s 昀椀ndings, once the
investigation is concluded.
The complaint was lodged
on 20 January 2025 by the
Softwood Plywood Consortium
(SPC). UPM, which is part of
the SPC, said in a statement:
“The concern is that Brazil is
exporting at dumped prices,
meaning softwood plywood
is being sold at a price below
its normal value in Brazil. This
investigation is therefore crucial
to ensure the future of the
entire EU softwood plywood
value chain, from forest owners,
loggers and suppliers to
producers.”
The investigation led by the
European Commission will now
examine whether Brazilian
producers are indeed dumping
softwood plywood in the EU,
and what the consequences of
those practices for European
businesses may be.
David Hopkins, CEO of Timber
Development UK, expressed
surprise at the investigation. He
said: “Brazil has always been a
solid, reliable trading partner,
producing quality goods for
the European and UK market.
I would be surprised if the
investigation 昀椀nds against the
Brazilian industry, but we must
wait for this to conclude.
"It is also surprising in light
of the fact there is already a
statutory instrument in place to
control trade – the Coniferous
Plywood Quota. The European
Commission could simply use
adjustments to this mechanism
to regulate trade if it so wishes.
We should always be in favour
of free and fair trade, without
distortions from state actions,
but equally we should be wary
of imposing tari昀昀s and other
trade barriers without very good
reason.”
Hardwood-faced plywood
This latest announcement
follows a previous investigation
the EU launched in October
2024, following a complaint
from the Greenwood
Consortium, which represents
the EU's hardwood plywood
SUPPLYING TIMBER
45
industry. The complaint claimed
hardwood-faced plywood
from China was being dumped
onto the European market. All
Hardwood-Faced Plywood from
China that arrives in the EU
must now be declared against
speci昀椀c new commodity codes
upon arrival.
TDUK released a Trade Note
following this 昀椀rst investigation,
which noted: "The EU
investigation is ongoing and will
examine allegations made that
Chinese hardwood plywood is
being sold in the EU at prices
signi昀椀cantly below normal
production costs. A signi昀椀cant
portion of the plywood imported
from China is alleged to
originate from Russia, whose
wood products have been
banned in the EU since February
2022.
"The investigation must report
its 昀椀ndings within 14 months of
the investigation start date, but
the EU is expected to make its
initial assessment public in April
2025.
The EU has previously imposed
anti-dumping duties on imports
from other countries. In 2023,
tari昀昀s were levied on plywood
imports from Kazakhstan and
Turkey, after investigations
revealed some of their plywood
included Russian content.
SPRING 2025
STOCKING TIMBER
The European Commission has launched an anti-dumping
investigation into allegations that imports of softwood plywood,
originating in Brazil, are being dumped onto the EU market.
