The second Trump administration has come out swinging on trade. New tariffs have reignited uncertainty across global supply chains and forced America’s economic allies to find ways of placating the White House. For Canada and Mexico, Washington’s partners in Trump’s U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, this has been a stark reminder of how easily trust can erode, even in the most integrated trade relationship in the world. …In terms of trade, the stakes could not be higher: Mexico and Canada are the United States’ no.1 and no. 2 trading partners. But the partners don’t just trade enormous amounts with each other; they build things together. Therefore, the review process is also a chance to modernize North America’s trade architecture, reinforce strategic industries, and rebuild the foundations of regional trust and cooperation. America’s competitiveness depends heavily on the integrated North American manufacturing platform, and thus on the success of Mexico and Canada, its partners.
MACKENZIE — The District of Mackenzie has seen challenges in recent years with a downturn in British Columbia’s forestry industry, but Mayor Joan Atkinson said that diversifying into other industries has made a big impact on her community. … “We suffered a huge loss in taxation from 2024 to 2025 as a result of the closure of two large industrial facilities, but this community has always been resilient,” said Atkinson. …Canfor said it was indefinitely curtailing activity at its Mackenzie sawmill in July 2019. … Paper Excellence permanently shuttered its Mackenzie pulp mill in April 2021. Atkinson noted two factors that have helped the local forestry industry. The first was Forests Minister Ravi Parmar announcing a change in an appraisal system that makes it more economically viable for companies to operate in Northern BC. The second is ownership of nearby timber supply areas by First Nations.
The East Fraser Fibre mill in Quesnel was on fire Saturday, June 21, closing a stretch of Highway 97 at the intersection with Quesnel-Hixon Road. Firefighters from multiple departments including Quesnel Volunteer Fire Department (QVFD), Ten Mile Volunteer Fire Department and Barlow Creek Volunteer Fire Department responded to the blaze. “On arrival we had heavy smoke and flames exiting the roof of the building,” said QVFD chief Ron Richert. “Crews were on scene for almost 12 hours, until seven o’clock in the morning.” Crews were also called back to the East Fraser Fibre building to manage hot spots, where small fires in some areas of the building or grass outside flared up. Richert said the building is now clear of fibre but it is still under investigation.
Two industrial properties in the Alberni Valley that were shuttered when San Group declared bankruptcy last year have been sold. The Coulson Mill, located a few kilometres up the Alberni Inlet, has been purchased for an undisclosed amount by Fraserview, a Surrey company that has been producing manufactured wood products since 1994. The remanufacturing plant on Stamp Avenue has been sold to a numbered company, 037BC, which will in turn lease the premises to IGV Housing Ltd. This company, from Ucluelet, specializes in manufacturing scalable and sustainable housing using a hybrid construction system, according to court documents. The company intends to “revitalize the…plant as a central hub for prefabrication and production of affordable housing.” Again, the purchase price was not disclosed. The closing date for the reman plant purchase will be before June 30, 2025.
A contractor hired to oversee logging on a Sechelt property and that site’s numbered company owner were sentenced for violations of the Heritage Conservation Act June 16, in the first ever B.C. Provincial Court sitting held at the shíshálh Nation longhouse. Grant Starrs, 55, of Sechelt and 0990199 B.C. Ltd. both pleaded guilty to the 2020 disruption of an identified heritage site. That area was occupied by the graves of 49 shíshálh people, according to federal Crown counsel Molly Greene. Provincial Court Judge Robert Hamilton accepted the joint submission of the Crown and defence attorneys, and fined the company $200,000, payable within five business days. Starrs was fined $30,000 and given 90 days to pay. Each is also to pay a victim surcharge of 15 per cent of their fine amounts. …In issuing his decision, Hamilton stated the fine to the company was four times higher than previous ones issued for such violations of the Heritage Conservation Act.
The Trump administration will rescind protections that prevent logging on nearly a third of national forest lands, including the largest old growth forest in the country, the agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, announced on Monday. …Republican lawmakers from western states celebrated the announcement while environmental groups expressed dismay. On social media, the Republican representative for Alaska, Nick Begich, said: “…the ‘Roadless Rule’ has long stifled responsible forest management, blocked access to critical resources, and halted economic opportunity.” Meanwhile, the Sierra Club’s Alex Craven, said: “Once again, the Trump administration is ignoring the voices of millions of Americans to pursue a corporate giveaway for his billionaire buddies. Stripping our national forests of roadless rule protections will put close to 60m acres of wildlands across the country on the chopping block.”
…In August 2024, a lumber mill owned by K & D Products and nestled in Panguitch, Garfield County’s largest city, went up in flames. Reports stated that, while the blaze didn’t get to the timber, the site’s machinery was severely damaged. The destruction landed a heavy blow to the community and the Frandsen family, who have owned and operated the mill for generations. …Between the area’s lumber heritage and the need to balance out tourism’s seasonal employment waves, Fiala gained enthusiastic support from state and local governments to build another sawmill. With his business partner, Barco — a logging company — Fiala acquired 25 acres north of Panguitch and began clearing space and bringing in power, water and gas. When the K & D Products sawmill burned during Fiala’s development, he spoke to the Frandsens and together they worked out a way for Fiala to take over what was left of the old mill and utilize it for his new business.
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill to reauthorize a program that has provided billions to schools, roads and other services in rural Oregon and Idaho. The U.S. Forest Service’s “Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Program,” was initially crafted in 2000 to help offset the loss of timber revenue in rural counties. The program expired at the end of 2023, but the recently passed “Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025” would reauthorize the funding for more than 4,000 school districts and 700 counties across the country through the 2026 fiscal year. The bill’s lead sponsors include U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both Oregon Democrats, and U.S. Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo, both Idaho Republicans. …This year, bill sponsors are urging the U.S. House to reauthorize the program. Without its passage in the House, rural counties in Oregon, Idaho and across the country will fall short of funds that support local services.
EUGENE, Oregon — Sierra Pacific Industries plans to spend $253 million on upgrades to its Eugene, Oregon, sawmill site, according to published reports. The 
USK, Washington — The owners of the defunct Ponderay Newsprint Mill plan to sell its equipment at auction next month after years of empty promises to reopen what had been one of the largest employers in northeast Washington. The sprawling 927-acre property in Usk has 29 buildings and storage facilities. It is situated adjacent to the Pend Oreille River and the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad. Instead of making paper or reconfiguring the mill to make cardboard, as the new owners promised multiple times in public hearings, the site has produced nothing for the past several years. Instead the owners used vast amounts of electricity to run computers mining for cryptocurrency. The paper mill previously was owned by Lake Superior Forest Products, a subsidiary of Quebec-based Resolute Forest Products, and five major U.S. publishers. They declared bankruptcy in 2020, ending the jobs of about 140 workers. Now that equipment is being listed by Capital Recovery Group to be viewed on July 21 with online auctions to commence on July 22 and July 23.
VANCOUVER, BC – Canfor announced today its decision to permanently close the Estill and Darlington sawmills in South Carolina, effective August 2025. These closures follow an extended period of persistently weak market conditions and sustained financial losses, which have made continued operations at these facilities no longer viable. “We understand the significant impact this difficult decision will have on our employees,” said Lee Goodloe, President, Canfor Southern Pine. “This outcome is in no way a reflection of the dedication and hard work of our teams. We are committed to supporting our employees through this transition, including providing severance payments and exploring opportunities for redeployment within our other operations where possible.” Approximately 290 employees will be affected by the closures, which will also reduce Canfor’s U.S. lumber production capacity by 350 million board feet annually.
When you think about Indiana’s ag industry, you might not think about hardwoods and lumber, which play a huge role in the state’s economy. Indiana’s hardwood industry has an annual economic impact of over $10 billion to the state’s economy. In fact, Indiana is the number one producer of wooden hardwood and office furniture in the US. Indiana’s hardwood sector also ranks: 2nd in wood kitchen cabinets and countertops, manufactured homes, 3rd in engineered wood products, 4th in pre-fabricated wood buildings, and 5th in upholstered household furniture. Much of the lumber that is harvested and used here in Indiana comes from private woodland owners. “There’s over 4.5 million acres of forest land in Indiana, and of that 85 percent of that is privately owned, so there are a lot of farmers and families who own forest land,” says Tyler Smith, Sales Manager of Cole Hardwood in Logansport.
ONTARIO — A northern Ontario forestry company says a train crossing Highway 560 collided Wednesday morning with logs that were spilled by an overturned contractor’s trailer. It happened at the railroad crossing near Interfor’s Gogama Division and resulted in the road being closed between highways 144 and 560A. “There are no injuries or derailment,” Ontario Provincial Police said in a social media post at 8:40 a.m. “A train stop order is in place.” Interfor also confirmed this. …“At Interfor, the safety of our people and the communities where we operate is our highest priority. We are focused on supporting those affected and are actively monitoring the situation.” There is no estimated time of reopening, said OPP Const. Michelle Simard. “The officers are still investigating,” Simard said.
GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. — 
SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tennessee – Recent missile attacks put global trade on alert as the Baltic and International Maritime Council warned the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf could face disruption. …Mike Cardin, Cardin Forest Products Chief Manager, said the conflict could hurt the American lumber industry as well. Cardin’s hardwood sawmill reported fewer orders coming out of the Middle East. Uncertainties about President Trump’s future tariff policies forced Cardin to change how his sawmill operates. Before Trump took office, Cardin said his sawmill shipped wood products across the globe. He said foreign buyers proactively stopped buying American wood because they expect Trump to slap new tariffs on timber imports by the end of the year. Most of Cardin’s sales now come from Mexico and within the U.S. …”Right now, no one knows what’s going to happen,” Jarrod Cardin, Cardin’s Controlling Member, said.
NEW ZEALAND — Forestry Minister Todd McClay has unveiled two-way forestry trade missions with India this year. The inbound visit – supported by industry partners – is expected to showcase New Zealand’s forestry systems and sustainable management practices. “The outbound mission will continue to open doors for deeper commercial and government partnerships,” McClay said. …McClay was speaking at the Fieldays Forestry Hub on Friday. Trade between New Zealand and India was valued at $3.14 billion in 2024. New Zealand’s exports to India last year included forestry products valued at $126 million. New Zealand’s wood exports to India have surged from $9.5 million in 2023 to an estimated $76.5 million this year. Pulp exports have more than doubled, from $20 million to $45.6 million. “India is one of the fastest-growing markets for our forestry exports – and we’re focused on turning that growth into long-term opportunity for New Zealand exporters,” McClay said.