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Breaking News

A trade deal with the US could include lumber quotas, Carney says

The Canadian Press in Global News
July 16, 2025
Category: Breaking News
Region: Canada, United States

Mark Carney

Prime Minister Carney says any future trade deal with the US could include “some element of managed trade,” including quotas, on softwood lumber exports. Carney’s comments come after B.C. Premier David Eby said that the federal government has been speaking with the provinces about quotas to resolve the softwood lumber dispute. Carney added that resolving the conflict is a “top priority” as the US prepares to double various duties to 34.45%. Canada and the US have been without a softwood lumber agreement since 2015, and Eby has previously said that resolving the dispute could “build momentum” for a larger trade deal. US President Trump’s latest threat is to impose 35% tariffs by Aug. 1 on Canadian goods currently not compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Carney says he agrees with Eby’s idea of resolving the lumber dispute as part of a larger trade deal, but notes that both issues are unfolding along different times lines.

Related coverage in: Business in Vancouver: Carney confirms possibility of lumber quotas in trade deal with US

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Business & Politics

BC’s forests minister open to lumber quotas if it solves U.S. trade dispute

By Mark Page
Today in BC – Black Press
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Ravi Parmar

BC Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said that if lumber quotas are what is needed to end the decades-old softwood lumber dispute with the United States, then so be it. “It just may be able to address this issue once and for all,” Parmar said. Premier David Eby floated the possibility… and Prime Minister Mark Carney said it could be in the cards. …Parmar acknowledged BC lumber companies might have “differing views” on quotas, but he said it is just one tool. Kurt Niquidet, president of BC Lumber Trade Council did not rule out quotas. “Resolving this long-standing dispute is essential to protecting jobs, supporting communities, and ensuring a stable, competitive future for our forest sector,” Niquidet said. …Regardless of whether Canada puts quotas on the table as part of negotiations, Parmar said Trump could balk. “The president seems to really like tariffs,” Parmar said. “And so he may say, bugger off.”

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US Lumber Coalition Responds to Prime Minister Carney Statement

The US Lumber Coalition
July 16, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Zoltan van Heyningen

Prime Minister Carney and BC Premier Eby are advancing the idea of setting aside the enforcement of the US trade laws against unfairly traded Canadian lumber. …Canada does not voluntarily give up its remedies against unfairly traded imports from other countries but they are now asking the US to do precisely that. Canada is asking the US to do a favor for Canadian workers at the expense of US workers. “The US has collected over $7 billion dollars in duties and Canada’s request to terminate these cases and refund money would be the single biggest bailout of the Canadian lumber industry funded by US taxpayers and would come at the expense of US workers and loggers”, said Zoltan van Heyningen. …“It is also essential to implement additional measures under Section 232 to address the underlying cause of Canadian unfair trade practices,” added van Heyningen. “We must not yield to Canadian demands.”

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Level of US tariffs Canada would accept in trade deal still up for negotiation, Carney says

By Steven Chase, Stephanie Levitz & Laura Stone
The Globe and Mail
July 16, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Prime Minister Carney says securing a truce in the long-running Canada-US lumber dispute is a top priority as Canadian producers brace for even heftier US levies as early as September. …Mr. Carney declined to say what level of baseline tariff Ottawa would accept in a new trade and security pact with Washington. …Mr. Carney was asked whether Canada would impose tariffs on US products if the US keeps a baseline levy on Canadian goods. “We’ll see what the final agreement is, if there is an agreement,” he said. …Historically, Mr. Carney said lumber deals with the US contain “some element of managed trade” such as quotas on Canadian shipments to the US. …Mr. Pellerin, a former Canadian government softwood litigator, said he thinks it would be unwise to strike a deal before litigation related to the softwood dispute plays out. There are several challenges of US duties on softwood proceeding under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement dispute mechanism. [This story is for Globe and Mail subscribers only]

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Canada weighs limits on US lumber exports to ease trade friction, BC Premier says

By Ananya Palyekar
Reuters
July 16, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Canada is open to considering limits on softwood lumber exports to the U.S. to try to ease some trade friction between the neighboring countries, British Columbia Premier David Eby told Bloomberg News in a report published on Wednesday. “One of the asks for years out of the American coalition has been a quota — that there’s a fixed amount of lumber that gets to come from Canada,” Eby told Bloomberg News. “And I think that, for the first time, there’s some willingness to have a conversation about what that could look like.” [to access the full story, a Reuters or Bloomberg Economics subscription is required]

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Eby reshuffles BC cabinet, switching up heads of housing, public safety and jobs

CBC News
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

David Eby

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s cabinet has been reworked in what Premier David Eby says is a strategic shift in order to focus on jobs and the economy. “The world has changed since the election and since the swearing in of our first cabinet,” said Eby. …Former housing minister Ravi Kahlon takes over as minister responsible for jobs from Diana Gibson, who moves into the citizens’ services role previously held by George Chow. Garry Begg has been ousted as solicitor general and will be replaced by Nina Krieger. Christine Boyle will take over the housing portfolio and her Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation goes to Spencer Chandra-Herbert. The premier says his cabinet will work on the province’s biggest challenges: growing the economy, seizing investment opportunities and strengthening public services.

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Campbell River looks to resources as marine services firm leaves

By Ish Sharma
The Western Investor
July 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

CAMPBELL RIVER, BC — Amix Marine Services, which has been providing tugs, barges and other resources to the marine community in Campbell River, is now crossing into Port Alberni’s waters. Amix recently bought 45 acres on the Port Alberni waterfront from Western Forest Products for $7.3 million and plans to move operations over the course of the summer and make the city its home port by this fall. Amix employed 20 people in Campbell River but the ripple effects of its loss will be felt by suppliers and businesses that support the city’s marine sector as a whole. …Port Alberni was attractive to Amix because of the opportunity to expand on property it owned, rather than be limited to the 6.4 acres it’s been leasing in Campbell River. …Amix’s loss will be offset by a variety of major projects rooted in the resource and clean energy sector.

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Province promises more wood heat, wood buildings in wake of Northern Pulp selling off assets

By Taryn Grant
CBC News
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Days after Nova Scotia’s forestry sector was dealt a major blow, the province is promising to use more wood to heat and construct public buildings — although officials deny any connection between the two developments. Two cabinet ministers made the announcement Thursday at Ledwidge Lumber, a sawmill in Enfield, N.S. Public Works Minister Fred Tilley said every government department is being directed to look for opportunities to use wood products that are leftover after trees have been harvested and milled for lumber. The products could include mass timber, wood pellets, biomass and biofuels. Tilley said the move was driven by the province’s desire to become more self-reliant, reduce fossil fuel use and produce more locally-made construction materials. …Meanwhile, lawyers for Northern Pulp were in a British Columbia courtroom on Thursday where they received approval for a plan to extend creditor protection while preparations continue to auction off the outfit’s Nova Scotia assets.

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‘We want to see softwood on the table in these trade talks’: Premier Holt

By Adam Huras
The Telegraph-Journal
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East, United States

Susan Holt

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says she’s part of a push to see a nearly decade-long softwood lumber standoff end as part of a larger new trade deal with the US. But the premier stopped short of saying whether her government supports the idea of a quota limit,” if that’s what it takes to finally reach a deal. …“The tariffs that are currently in place on softwood lumber are damaging to New Brunswick and the forecast that those tariffs are going to increase significantly has put a real chilling effect on a critical industry for our province.” …New Brunswick’s largest forestry company J.D. Irving, Limited currently pays a duty of 11.68%, while the province’s other softwood producers, including Arbec, H.J. Crabbe & Sons Ltd., Marwood, and Twin Rivers have been assessed a combined rate of 14.54%. The preliminary plans for higher duty rates are set to take effect by September.

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Are we suckers for giving out ‘job creating’ loans like Northern Pulp too easily?

By John DeMont
The Chronicle Herald
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Stop me if you have heard this one before. A company from away lands and makes loud noises about hiring hundreds of people in a job-hungry rural part of Nova Scotia. Government puts up millions of our dollars to bring in a new industry it really doesn’t understand. …Sometimes it works, other times the receivers move in or the multi-nationals move out. Then the recriminations begin. They already have in the 58-year-long saga of Northern Pulp and its predecessor companies which limps to a conclusion in Nova Scotia. This province has had a few successful commercial transplants. …But it is our high-profile failures, like this week’s announcement that Northern Pulp not only wouldn’t build a mill on the South Shore but has started selling off its assets, that seem to stick. …Enough companies have gone bust, sometimes spectacularly so, that they should serve as cautionary tales.

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Cascades invests more than $3.5 million in its Kingsey Falls tissue plant

Cascades Inc.
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Hugues Simon & Jérôme Porlier

KINGSEY FALLS, Quebec — Cascades announced it has recently invested $3,560,000 to upgrade a strategic converting line at its Kingsey Falls tissue plant. The investment involved replacing a packager and bagger with higher-performance equipment, which will result in two major benefits, namely optimizing the bathroom tissue packaging process and increasing productivity. The project is expected to increase the converting line’s production rate at the packaging level by 8% compared to current performance levels, as well as improve overall line throughput, specifically through improved availability and a faster average speed. …This investment exceeding $3.5 million—part of our continuous improvement efforts—demonstrates our commitment to driving our growth,” said Hugues Simon, President and CEO of Cascades. …Opened in 1977, the Kingsey Falls tissue plant currently serves the residential hygiene solutions market. 

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AV Terrace Bay pulp mill fined for air emissions breach

Government of Ontario
July 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

TERRACE BAY, Ontario — AV Terrace Bay has been convicted on two charges: Failing to control the quality of discharged effluent to ensure that acute toxicity tests resulted in no more than a 50% mortality rate for the test organisms; and Failing to comply with an industry standard by discharging Total Reduced Sulphur compounds. …AV Terrace Bay was convicted of two violations under the Environmental Protection Act, fined $525,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $131,250, and given 12 months to pay. …Due to financial constraints and market conditions, the mill has been in a warm idle state and has not been producing product or revenue since at least January 2024. The mill generates industrial effluent that undergoes primary and secondary treatment prior to discharging to Lake Superior via Blackbird Creek. …On May 1, 2023, 100% of the Rainbow Trout died during an acute lethality test performed on a grab sample of the mill’s final effluent.

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Georgia-Pacific Announces $191 Million CAD Capital Investment in Englehart OSB Mill

By Georgia-Pacific
Cision Newswire
July 15, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East, United States

ENGLEHART, Ontario — Georgia-Pacific announced a new capital project for the company’s Englehart OSB mill in Ontario. The approximately $191 million CAD investment will fund a new log processing system and include the expansion and construction of a new finished goods warehouse. This investment comes as Englehart OSB celebrates its fifteenth anniversary as a Georgia-Pacific facility. The first board was produced at the mill in 1983. David Neal, executive VP, building products, “This investment strengthens our operational capabilities and positions the Englehart mill for greater productivity in the years ahead.” …John Beers, president –structural panels, “These improvements will continue our focus on staying competitive and ensures Englehart is an environmentally conscious, 21st century mill.” Design and engineering work has started, and the project is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2027.

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AF&PA Appreciates US Efforts to Address Non-Tariff Trade Barriers

The American Forest & Paper Association
July 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

WASHINGTON – American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock today reacted to recent US-EU trade negotiations: “We appreciate President Trump and his administration’s efforts to further enhance fair and reciprocal trade with key partners like the European Union. Addressing tariff and non-tariff trade barriers is crucial to ensuring a positive trade relationship for the pulp, paper, packaging and tissue products manufacturing industry. “The EU’s deforestation free regulation (EUDR), which has been identified as a non-tariff trade barrier by the U.S. Trade Representative, risks over $3.5 billion in annual forest products exports to the EU. “We encourage President Trump and his administration to continue working towards a fair and reciprocal trade relationship with the EU that fixes this regulation while improving other aspects of trade for U.S. paper manufacturers.”

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US Trade Representative to investigate Brazil’s trade, ethanol and forestry market practices

By Joe Adamy
Michigan Farm News
July 17, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

Is Brazil playing fair when it comes to trade? An investigation launched July 15 by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) aims to find the answer. The Section 301 investigation will seek to determine whether acts, policies, and practices of the Government of Brazil related to a host of trade issues — including ethanol market access and forestry practices — are “unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce.” “Brazil has walked away from its willingness to provide virtually duty-free treatment for U.S. ethanol and instead now applies a substantially higher tariff on U.S. ethanol exports,” the USTR office wrote in announcing the investigation. The announcement also said Brazil appears to be failing to effectively enforce laws and regulations designed to stop illegal deforestation — which undermines the competitiveness of U.S. producers of timber and ag products.

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US Forest Service research survives in House spending bill

By Marc Heller
E&E News by Politico
July 15, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

House appropriators Monday turned away a Trump administration effort to slash the Forest Service’s research budget, proposing to hold spending steady at about $300 million in fiscal 2026. The proposal by the Republican-led House Appropriations Committee is part of an $8.5 billion annual spending plan for the Forest Service that largely ignores the administration’s most far-reaching proposals. Total spending for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 would be $16.8 million less than this year’s level. Spending not directly tied to fire suppression would total $3.6 billion, or about $107 million less than this year. The measure is scheduled for a subcommittee markup Tuesday. The research budget would total $302 million, of which $34 million would be reserved for forest inventory and analysis — the data-collecting operation that the administration hadn’t looked to scale back. [to access the full story an E&E News subscription is required]

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Firms admit laundering Russian wood into the EU, in sanctions- busting trade worth over €1.5bn

Earthsight.org.uk
July 14, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

Investigators at UK-based non-profit, Earthsight, have uncovered a booming trade in illegal Russian timber stretching throughout Europe and breaching war sanctions. The investigation ‘Exposing the EU trade in Russian conflict ply,’ caught firms on camera, in voice calls and through internal documents arranging a steady flow of Russian plywood into the EU. These companies are selling their illegal wood across the continent, and their customers include important manufacturers of climbing walls, toys, flooring, furniture and other products. Posing as buyers over a 9 month period, the investigators recorded traders admitting the practice is illegal, calling it a “gold mine” and suggesting techniques to avoid detection. The UK-based NGO estimates that more than 500,000 cubic metres of timber, with a retail value of over 1.5 billion Euros, has flowed from Russia through third countries and into the EU since sanctions were imposed in July 2022.

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Finance & Economics

Canadian housing starts post 0.4% rise in June compared to May

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
July 16, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

OTTAWA – Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in June edged up 0.4 per cent compared to May. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts amounted to 283,734 units in June, up from 282,705 in May. CMHC says actual housing starts in centres with a population of 10,000 or greater amounted to 23,282 units in June, up 14 per cent from 20,509 in June last year. The six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate starts across Canada rose 3.6 per cent in June to 253,081. …The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada. Actual housing starts were up 14% year-over-year in centres with a population of 10,000 or greater, with 23,282 units recorded in June, compared to 20,509 units in June 2024. The year-to-date total was 114,411, up 4% from the same period in 2024. 

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Lumber Futures Rise Past $650

Trading View
July 15, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber futures traded above $650 per thousand board feet, hovering near April highs driven by tightening US sawmill output and dwindling import volumes, both of which are near their lowest levels in half a decade. Domestic production in the first quarter slipped year-on-year, and imports, including softwood lumber from Canada, have contracted sharply, leaving US framing material availability at its leanest since 2019. At the same time, builders are contending with looming tariff hikes that could push duties on Canadian lumber from roughly 14.5% today toward the mid-30s, adding several thousand dollars to the cost of new homes. Although a modest pull-back in construction activity has softened recent gains, overall demand remains sufficient to absorb current supply, and without a rapid expansion in US mill capacity or alternative sourcing, these supply constraints, compounded by rising trade barriers, are likely to sustain upward pressure on lumber prices in the months ahead.

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Canada’s annual inflation rate in June slightly up to 1.9%

By Promit Mukherjee
Reuters in Yahoo! Finance
July 15, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

OTTAWA — Canada’s annual inflation rate rose to 1.9% in June, meeting analysts’ expectations, as increases in the price of automobiles and clothing and footwear pushed the index higher, data showed on Tuesday. The consumer price index was at 1.7% in the prior month. Statistics Canada said on a monthly basis the CPI increased 0.1%, matching analysts’ forecasts. It is for the third month in a row that the CPI has been under 2%, or the mid-point of Bank of Canada’s inflation target range. This is the last major economic indicator to be released before the Bank of Canada’s rates decision later this month. The slight rise in prices across many segments, along with a strong jobs number last week, is likely to take away any incentive to cut interest rates, economists had earlier predicted. …Shelter prices rose by 2.9%, its first drop below 3% in more than four years.

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US Single-Family Starts Weaken in June but Multifamily Starts Increase More Than Expected

By Robert Dietz, Chief Economist
NAHB Eye on Housing
July 18, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Single-family housing starts declined in June to the lowest rate since July 2024 as elevated interest rates, rising inventories and ongoing supply-side issues continue to act as headwinds for the housing sector. Due to a solid increase in multifamily production, overall housing starts increased 4.6% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.32 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The June reading of 1.32 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts decreased 4.6% to an 883,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate and are down 10% compared to June 2024. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, increased 30% to an annualized 438,000 pace.

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US Builder Confidence Edges Up in July

By Robert Dietz, Chief Economist
NAHB Eye on Housing
July 17, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Builder confidence for future sales expectations received a slight boost in July with the extension of the 2017 tax cuts, but elevated interest rates and economic and policy uncertainty continue to act as headwinds for the housing sector. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 33 in July, up one point from June. Builder sentiment has now been in negative territory for 15 consecutive months. …Consistent with ongoing weakness for the HMI, single-family housing starts will post a decline in 2025 due to ongoing housing affordability challenges per the latest NAHB forecast. Single-family permits are down 6% on a year-to-date basis and builder traffic in the HMI is at a more than two-year low. …The HMI index gauging current sales conditions rose one point in July to a level of 36 while the component measuring sales expectations in the next six months increased three points to 43.

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‘Just look at what happened last time’: US exporters fear Trump trade war fallout

By Daniel Desrochers
Politico
July 16, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

President Donald Trump’s flurry of tariff letters to more two dozen countries has triggered new threats of retaliation. Key US industries are increasingly worried they are going to be collateral damage. The European Union on Monday released a targeted list of $88 billion worth of US goods it plans to tariff if it doesn’t make more progress in trade talks with Trump. Brazil, staring down a 50% duty on its exports to the US over Trump’s frustration with their domestic politics. …While the hardening battle lines in the negotiations could be part of each sides’ effort to force more concessions, domestic business groups aren’t counting on it. Instead, they are mobilizing to try and convince both the Trump administration and foreign governments that it would be a mistake to target their industries. …On Tuesday, the president dismissed the idea that the EU may go through with their proposed retaliatory tariffs.

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US Inflation Picks Up as Tariffs Take Hold

By Fan-Yu Kuo
NAHB – Eye on Housing
July 15, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Inflation rose to a 4-month high in June as consumer prices began to reflect tariff policy. The Consumer Price Index increased from 2.4% in May to 2.7% in June year-over-year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report. Despite the increase, core inflation came in softer than expected, suggesting full tariff impacts will likely push inflation even higher in the coming months. Meanwhile, housing inflation continued to show signs of cooling and matched the lowest level since November 2021. During the past twelve months, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index rose by 2.7% in June, the highest since February 2025. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the “core” CPI increased by 2.9% over the past twelve months. A large portion of the “core” CPI is the housing shelter index, which increased 3.8% over the year, the lowest reading since November 2021.

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Trump announces deal with Indonesia, EU releases list of counter-tariffs

Yahoo! Finance
July 15, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States, International

President Trump announced his team struck a trade deal with Indonesia on Tuesday and said details would be forthcoming. …The announcement comes after Trump unveiled a new batch of letters to over 20 trade partners outlining tariffs on goods imported from their countries beginning in August. The letters set new baseline tariff levels at 20% to 40% — except for a 50% levy on goods from Brazil. …Trump has also escalated tariff tensions with Canada, Mexico, and the European Union recently. On Thursday, Trump announced a 35% tariff on Canadian goods and followed that up with promises of 30% duties on Mexico and the EU. The EU has been preparing options for a trade deal, while also preparing an extensive list of counter-tariffs that would affect 72 billion euros ($84 billion USD) of American products should talks fail. “There will be a huge impact on trade,” the EU’s chief negotiator said Monday.

Related in the Associated Press: EU ministers plan countermeasures to Trump’s 30% tariffs

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

University of Oregon-led team named National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines semifinalist

By Thuy Tran, University Communications
University of Oregon
July 16, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

A University of Oregon-led initiative to revolutionize the mass timber sector in the Pacific Northwest has been selected as a semifinalist in the highly competitive National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines program. “This significant step forward for the University of Oregon, and its project to build an even stronger mass timber industry in our state,” said U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon. “Mass timber is revolutionizing the construction business with better and safer buildings. The U of O deserves major credit for earning this honor and I am confident it has both the capacity and talent to fully develop the employment and economic benefits of mass timber.” …The NSF Engine: Oregon Mass Timber Innovation Engine, led by principal investigator Judith Sheine, professor of architecture in the UO College of Design and director of design of the TallWood Design Institute, is among just 29 semifinalist teams nationally. 

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Forestry

Australia NSW Forestry Corporation firefighters join international Canada deployment

By Forestry Corporation of New South Wales
Australian Rural & Regional News
July 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, International

Forestry Corporation firefighters from Tumut and Deniliquin will deploy to Canada this week to reinforce local and international crews battling ongoing wildfires, where close to five million hectares have been burnt, approximately 150 wildfires remain active, and multiple communities have been evacuated. Forestry Corporation’s Linda Cotterill of Tumut will deploy to the position of Divisional Supervisor in Alberta and Peter O’Toole of Deniliquin will deploy as an Incident Management Team Safety Officer in Manitoba. The firefighters will be based in Canada for four weeks, working in challenging conditions. …The deployment follows a formal request for assistance through international firefighting agreements and highlights the strong collaboration between Australia and Canada in emergency response. It is the third Forestry Corporation deployment to Canada this winter, with eight Forestry Corporation staff deployed in June and currently completing month-long deployments.

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Fears of a massive fish die-off in Cowichan River if conditions don’t improve

By Michael John Lo
The Peak
July 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Warm temperatures, low river flows and declining water quality are sparking fears of another mass fish die-off in the Cowichan River this summer. The Cowichan Watershed Board said river conditions this summer “mirror” those of 2023, when an estimated 84,000 to 100,000-plus fish died after prolonged drought and heat. Samples recently collected from six points along the Cowichan River show the water is seeing significant daily fluctuations in pH and dissolved oxygen levels similar to those of 2023. …Weir flows were reduced this spring so more water could be maintained in the summer. Researchers are also looking to identify, protect and improve cold-water refuge areas along the river that could provide fish a respite from the heat when waters warm. …Built in the 1950s to provide water for the pulp mill at Crofton, the Cowichan weir is owned and operated by Domtar.

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Canada Partners With Trees For Life to Grow Southern Ontario’s Urban and Suburban Canopy

Natural Resources Canada
July 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

WHITBY, Ontario — Ryan Turnbull, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance… highlighted a $4-million federal investment for tree-planting projects in urban and suburban areas in southern Ontario. Trees For Life will collaborate with planting partners to plant an average of 24,000 trees annually over five years, for a total of 120,000 trees in communities across southern Ontario. The collaboration with Trees For Life is already ahead of target, supporting the planting of 83,000 trees in southern Ontario with 35,000 trees planted in 2024 and 48,000 trees planted across 40 projects in 2025 to date. This project builds on a successful regional model piloted in the Durham Region. 

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Wildfire that consumed North Rim ignites tragic debate

By Peterr Aleshire
Payson Roundup
July 17, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

©NationalParkService

ARIZONA — The dawning debate about the wildfire that jumped containment lines and destroyed the iconic, Grand Canyon Lodge underscores the trap that has frozen forest management efforts for half a century. The slow-moving Dragon Bravo fire sudden flared into a monster illustrates the extreme difficulty of restoring forest health after a century of clear cutting. …The National Park Service initially released reassuring bulletins suggesting fire crews would develop fire lines to contain the fire. …Then everything changed, as winds gusting to 40 miles an hour ushered in stormfronts. By July 12, the Dragon Fire had jumped containment lines. …The pattern Is all too familiar to fire ecology experts like ASU professor Stephen Pyne. He argues that… all-out fire suppression had increased tree densities across millions of acres of Northern Arizona from about 50 per acre to more like 1,000 per acre. …Moreover, construction of homes and towns in the most fire-prone landscapes has exploded.

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Forest management is key to supporting the struggling Black Hills timber industry

By Ariana Schumacher
Doransfarmers.com
July 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

SPEARFISH, South Dakota — The Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming are not only a beautiful tourist destination but also a major part of the agricultural industry. Many are working to maintain the important role of forest management as a way of supporting agriculture, economies and public health. Jeremy Dedic, forest partnership coordinator for Wyoming State Forestry said, “It’s not like we’re growing corn, but it’s growing plants, and we can manage that and get our results,” Dedic said. …“Most recently, we’ve had some of our larger operators having to scale back their operations,” said Marcus Warnke, state forester for South Dakota. …“Thinning our forest, giving our trees space so that they have enough water, sunlight and nutrients to be healthy and resilient to fire and bugs,” Pierson said. “Those activities produce logs that we bring to our sawmills and make boards out of for public sale.”

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Oregon’s Forestry and Logging Industry: From Planting to Harvest

By Brian Rooney
The Newport News Times
July 14, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Forests cover more than 30 million of Oregon’s 62 million acres – almost half of the state’s landmass. According to the Oregon Employment Department’s covered employment statistics, forestry and logging’s 681 establishments employed 8,787 workers statewide and added $717 million in payroll to Oregon’s economy in 2024. The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) estimates logging harvests totaled 3.6 billion board feet in 2022. While much of this timber feeds Oregon’s wood products industry, creating jobs and income, many jobs are also created planting, growing, and harvesting this resource. …The high level of forestry activity in Oregon also creates demand for a support activities industry. …Employment Department projections show that the logging industry in Oregon is expected to lose about 200 jobs, or 5% between 2023 and 2033 partly due to continued mechanization. Other industries within timber production, such as timber tract operations and support activities for forestry do not have published Oregon Employment Department forecasts.

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Russia’s Timber Industry Faces Shutdowns Amid Sanctions, Strong Ruble and Slumping Demand

The Moscow Times
July 15, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Russia’s timber industry is warning of widespread production shutdowns as the sector reels from Western sanctions, declining demand and a surging ruble that has battered the country’s export competitiveness. …The Russian Association of Organizations and Enterprises of the Pulp and Paper Industry described the current moment as one of the industry’s most difficult periods in modern history. Industry data show that timber harvesting fell 13% in 2024 compared with pre-war levels in 2021, lumber production dropped 11% and plywood output declined 23%. Even pulp production, one of the sector’s more stable outputs, decreased by 3%. Major industry players including Segezha Group and ULK Group have been restructuring loans over the past two years in response to falling output, sliding prices and soaring costs. But the situation has continued to deteriorate, especially within the export-heavy pulp and paper sector. Compounding the problem is the Central Bank’s steep 20% key interest rate along with a hike in the profit tax rate from 20% to 25%.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Neither ‘Biofuel’ Nor Nuclear Will Solve Our Energy Problems

By Ben Parfitt
The Tyee
July 16, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West, International

…In the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, Japan shut down not just Fukushima but all of its nuclear plants, a move that resulted in the loss of a third of its electrical power. …Japan faced a daunting energy crisis that it addressed… with conventional fuels such as natural gas and “bioproducts” including wood pellets derived from the logging of BC’s Interior forests. …Last year, roughly two million tonnes of those pellets arrived Japanese ports from BC, linked to a dozen mills in the province that make wood pellets derived from trees logged in the province’s rapidly dwindling primary forests — natural forests never previously subject to industrial logging. …Which means that in the name of creating allegedly clean energy, forests are being razed just to burn the wood. …The strain on the province’s stressed forests is [also] coming from other bioenergy producers, including those who want to use wood to make jet fuel.

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Big New Brunswick emitters polluted less in 2023, but fell further behind targets

By Jacques Poitras
CBC News
July 15, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

New Brunswick’s biggest industrial carbon emitters pumped out lower amounts of greenhouse gases in 2023, but the reductions were not enough to keep pace with tightening emissions standards. The gap between the total emissions by the province’s 15 biggest industrial polluters and their regulated emissions limits grew larger, according to numbers from the provincial government. That left them paying more under the province’s credit-trading carbon pricing system. Even so, that system is gaining traction, with more of those credits changing hands. …New Brunswick’s industrial carbon price is based on a credit trading system, a financial incentive for the 15 largest industrial emitters to stay below their emissions standards. If they do, they earn what are called performance credits they can sell for a profit. Plants that go above their standards must buy credits, adding to their cost. …The 15 big emitters collectively bought $21.1 million worth of fund credits in 2023, up from $12.6 million in 2022.

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New Brunswick Power’s plan to burn wood pellets under fire

By John Chilibeck
The Telegraph-Journal
July 13, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

NB Power’s estimated $300-million plan to convert its biggest plant in northern New Brunswick from burning coal to wood pellets would be environmentally damaging and waste a lot of energy, warns a new report. The Conservation Council of New Brunswick, an environmental organization looked at the plan. …They came up with findings that are at odds with NB Power’s rosy view. Running the plant full time on wood pellets, the critics said, would need more offcuts, forcing NB Power to import fuel from Europe. Furthermore, they warn that sourcing as much wood as possible locally would hurt the forest ecology. And lastly, they argue that burning pellets to create electricity is hugely inefficient and would drive up greenhouse gas emissions. …Energy Minister René Legacy told Brunswick News his department would take a close look at the report. But he alluded to the more than 100 jobs NB Power has created.

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Health & Safety

Forestry worker dies in workplace accident on Sunshine Coast

By Laura Brougham
Chek News
July 14, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

Ron Hollingsworth

A forestry worker, who a GoFundMe says was a dedicated logger, loving husband and father of three, died in a workplace accident on the Sunshine Coast. The GoFundMe identifies the man as Ron Hollingsworth. …RCMP confirmed it was informed of a fatal incident on July 10 shortly before 10 a.m. on Goat Island in Powell Lake. “RCMP Air Services provided immediate support in transporting officers to the scene, where it was confirmed one person was deceased,” RCMP said in an email to CHEK News. WorkSafeBC and the BC Coroner both confirmed they were investigating the death, and both said as the investigation is ongoing no further details could be released. Aaron Gunn, MP for North Island-Powell River, shared the news of the death on Facebook. …“This serves as a reminder of the inherent risks many of our resource workers face on a daily basis, and how they all deserve our respect and support.”

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Combustable dust training workshop help in Prince George, BC

By Tammy Carruthers, SAFE Companies
Canadian Forest Industries
July 14, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada West

A Combustible Dust Training Institute workshop was held in Prince George, BC. The training session underscored the importance of practical applications and strategic initiatives for controlling combustible dust hazards in the workplace. The training included two days of classroom training and a practical application of learnings at the Lakeland sawmill, part of Sinclar Forest Products. The training highlighted the critical role of housekeeping programs in managing dust accumulations and preventing hazardous conditions. …The workshop offered a comprehensive overview of practical applications and strategies for managing combustible dust hazards. Key takeaways included understanding building space evaluations, conducting Dust Hazard Analyses (DHAs), and the implementation of robust management systems and engineering controls. Continuous learning and adaptation were emphasized to ensure the safety of workers, facilities, and the environment.

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Air quality statement continues as forest fire smoke lingers

The Bay Today
July 15, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada East

Environment Canada has once again issued a special air quality statement for the North Bay area. …Environment Canada says smoke is causing or expected to cause poor air quality and reduced visibility. “Smoke from forest fires over northern Ontario is causing poor air quality that may persist throughout the day for some areas,” EC stated. “As smoke levels increase, health risks increase. Limit time outdoors. Consider reducing or rescheduling outdoor sports, activities and events. …EC suggests when indoors, keep windows and doors closed as much as possible. “Protect your indoor air from wildfire smoke. Actions can include using a clean, good quality air filter in your ventilation system and/or a certified portable air cleaner that can filter fine particles.

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Forest Fires

New fire on Mount Hood: Sheriff warns remote hikers ‘Leave immediately … Your life could be in great danger’

By Aimee Green
Oregon Live
July 17, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

MOUNT HOOD, Oregon — The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday afternoon issued a Level 3 (go now) evacuation order for a new, five-acre wildfire on Mount Hood that was first reported late in the morning about three miles northwest of Timothy Lake. As of 4 p.m., the evacuation order does not affect the campgrounds and trails immediately around Timothy Lake, a popular recreational spot about 90 minutes from Portland. But helicopters are scooping large buckets of water from the lake to suppress the fire. Firefighters on the ground also have started an “aggressive initial attack,” the U.S. Forest Service said. The evacuation order affects a two-mile radius around the much smaller Dinger Lake and includes Anvil Lake and the Anvil Lake Trail 724. The order so far only affects remote campsites and hikers. …Dubbed the Anvil fire, it is burning near Forest Road 5820.

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