Carney and Canada’s premiers weigh their response, as Trump’s 50% tariffs raise risks for Canadian forest products and US housing. In related news: Prime Minister Carney says Canada is only interested in a comprehensive trade deal; Derek Nighbor says the tariffs will impact Canadian jobs and US housing; experts David Elstone and Harry Nelson add their perspectives; and a NY Times columnist says this is nothing compared to what’s coming. Meanwhile: a global forest sector outlook report; a BC economic performance report; and the final determination on US duties on Chinese hardwood plywood.
In Forestry/Wildfire news: Xat’sull First Nation seeks emergency order to protect caribou; Ontario faces scrutiny over forest firefighter pay and retention; California highlights new investments in wildfire prevention technology; and China unveils an ambitious five-year forestry conservation plan. Meanwhile: wildfire and evacuation updates from BC’s Fraser Valley; and northeast of Madrid, Spain.
Finally, the promise—and pitfalls—of replacing plastics with paper packaging.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
Donald Trump’s most consequential construction project may be his tariff wall. His latest threat to raise tariffs to 50% on some Canadian goods, as drastic as it is, is not nearly as significant as what’s coming next. By the end of this month, the administration is expected to introduce major tariffs on dozens of countries. Unlike most previous rounds of tariffs, the new ones are backed by monthslong investigations into alleged unfair trade practices. No court has ever overturned this kind of tariff. But the biggest obstacle to undoing Mr. Trump’s tariffs after 2028 will be financial. With the national debt clocking in at a staggering $39.6 trillion, the market responsible for selling this debt has quickly grown addicted to the money coming into the government from tariffs. …In less than a year, America’s financial markets needs them to help cope with the country’s deficit. [to access the full story a NY Times subscription is required]
The White House has ramped up its trade war with Canada by threatening tariffs on a seemingly esoteric list of goods that would deliver a serious blow to companies caught in the crosshairs, even if the broader impact on the country’s economy should be limited. President Trump issued a trio of executive orders imposing 50% tariffs on more than 500 categories of products, ranging from larger sectors such as electronic equipment and furniture to a hodgepodge of products including hockey sticks, Canadian whisky and even some antiques. The tariffs would apply to roughly US$20-billion of imports from Canada, which represents roughly 5% of Canada’s shipments to the US in 2025. …The new tariffs are also set to impact a broad range of Canadian forest products. …Expanding the tariffs is deeply disappointing, Derek Nighbor, president and CEO of Forest Products Association of Canada said. [to access the full story a Globe and Mail subscription is required]
The U.S. Department of Commerce 
RUSS TAYLOR provided the latest quarterly report from the 
IRELAND — Timber construction is moving from the margins of Irish residential development to its mainstream. An 
It was more than a decade ago that the Ontario government started to worry about its wildland firefighting program. Back in 2016, a 
As tribes across the West seek the return of federal lands through U.S. Congress, land trusts have advanced a complementary strategy: helping tribes buy back private lands from willing sellers — including timber companies — with public funding and conservation dollars. That approach is also gaining support in Oregon where five federally recognized tribes are pursuing federal legislation that would transfer public lands into tribal ownership. In a letter last week to the state’s congressional delegation … urged lawmakers to invest in tribal acquisitions of private lands while preserving environmental protections and public access on federal lands. …Historically, land trusts focused on buying and preserving environmentally valued land via conservation easements and other deed restrictions [that] limited people’s access to the land or prohibited most human activities. In recent years, the trusts have started to reexamine that approach, particularly when working with tribes who strongly believe that land should exist in relationship with people.
Hundreds of firefighters and soldiers were battling a massive wildfire northeast of Madrid on Tuesday that has been raging since last week. Authorities say the blaze, which broke out on Thursday in Guadalajara province about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Spain’s capital, is one of the most difficult they have faced and is considered the most significant wildfire to affect the country this year. “It is the most complex of those that have been tackled in recent years in Spain,” Castilla-La Mancha regional president Emiliano Garcia-Page said. Garcia-Page added that more than 600 firefighters and nearly 50 aircraft and helicopters had “practically stopped” the blaze from spreading toward the provincial capital of Soria, but that it was not yet under control. The blaze has forced some 1,200 people to evacuate from their homes across the region of Castilla-La Mancha, while at least 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of land have been burnt, officials said.