Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today called for the International Trade Commission to forcefully respond to illegally subsidized Chinese hardwood plywood, which is flooding the U.S. market and crushing U.S. mills and jobs.
Wyden, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees trade issues, said the United States needs to respond now, before this illegal Chinese trade wipes out U.S. and Oregon producers.
“I can tell you with absolute confidence that American hardwood plywood manufacturers are some of the most efficient and competitive in the world. But they play by the rules of a competitive global economy. Their Chinese competitors don’t. So American businesses and workers have been forced to compete head-to-head against Chinese products sold well below market value," Wyden testified.
“The buck must stop here. Allowing China’s unfair trade practices with respect to hardwood plywood to continue unfettered will not only undermine American manufacturing, but will also encourage more countries to play by their own rules - and not with the fair competition and innovation that allowed us to become the world’s biggest and most vibrant economy," he continued.
Wyden also led a letter with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., and 13 other senators, who urged the International Trade Commission to stand up to these subsidized and dumped hardwood plywood imports. Read the letter here.
