Duties and tariffs, southern yellow pine oversupply and weak housing weigh on West Fraser’s Q4 results. In other company news: Fibre Excellence may close two pulp mills in France; Nippon Paper is acquiring a New Zealand wood fibre company; and Acadian Timber and Rayonier report their Q4, 2025 earnings. Meanwhile: US job growth rebounded; Canada’s building permit values rose; and BC outperformed Canada on exports.
In other news: the US EPA is proposing updates to its formaldehyde emission standards; Nebraska’s Horizon Biofuels is fined for July 2025 wood-dust explosion; a study says climate change set the stage for devastating fires in Argentina and Chile; and climate scientists say tipping point to hothouse earth may already be upon us.
Finally, despite Trump’s bridge threat and the House vote opposing tariffs, the upcoming CUSMA negotiations offer a sign of hope.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
WASHINGTON, DC — In a vote that GOP leaders fought hard to avoid, a half dozen Republicans sent a blunt message to President Trump that they do not support the tariff regime that he has made the centerpiece of his second term. Six Republicans joined with Democrats in the vote to effectively repeal the president’s tariffs on Canada, the culmination of months of consternation in the GOP over the president’s trade war that has quietly rattled even some of his staunchest loyalists in Congress. …The Senate has already passed a similar measure to cancel Trump’s tariffs on Canada, which — unlike most measures — can be passed with a simple majority rather than 60 votes. But even if the Senate does agree to this same House measure, Trump would still have the power to veto it. The House did not secure enough votes to protect a veto override.
WINDSOR, Ontario — For months, trade negotiations between Canada and the United States have been stalled. This week that all changed when US President Trump announced negotiations were back on. During his social media tirade about Windsor, Ontario’s Gordie Howe Bridge, and a list of other perceived transgressions, Trump wrote… we will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY.” While Trump’s political speed bump threatens to derail the planned opening of the commercial corridor, some industry leaders see an opening to accelerate negotiations. “Trade conversations have now restarted, a few weeks ago conversations weren’t happening. I see this as a positive,” says Canadian Association of Moldmakers Nicole Vlanich. …With Trump restarting trade negotiations that he once brought to a screeching halt, business leaders in Windsor hope this will be an important first step towards paving a clearer picture for economic growth for both the Canadian and US economies.
VANCOUVER, BC
B.C.’s export performance moved against the national pattern in November. Domestic exports to international markets rose 7.6 per cent year over year to $4.59 billion, whereas exports nationally declined by about four per cent on a customs basis. This contrast partly reflects differences in the types of goods each region exports. Nevertheless, provincial export trends remain soft, reflecting U.S. tariffs on key products like lumber, and end of de minimis treatment of low value exports. Year-to-date, B.C. exports slipped a mild 0.1 per cent from same-period 2024, which was slightly stronger than the national reading. …That said, a declining trend continued in the battered forestry sector (-13.7 per cent year over year), where tariffs have compounded weakness from timber supply constraints and other duties already imposed by the U.S.
EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – Acadian Timber reported financial and operating results for the three months ended December 31, 2025 as well as for the full 2025 fiscal year. “While 2025 brought a multitude of challenges, Acadian delivered steady operational performance in New Brunswick, helping to offset weather-related challenges, trucking constraints, and productivity issues in Maine,” said Adam Sheparski, President and Chief Executive Officer. …During the fourth quarter, Acadian generated sales of $22.0 million compared to $20.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. Acadian generated $5.2 million of Adjusted EBITDA and declared dividends of $5.3 million. During 2025, Acadian generated revenue from timber sales and services of $87.0 million, compared to $91.6 million in the prior year. The sale of 752,100 voluntary carbon credits contributed an additional $24.6 million to total sales in 2024 while no sales of carbon credits occurred in 2025. 
The Berkeley Wood Lab’s research on mass timber production has the potential to improve California’s sustainability by sourcing from local forests. The lab is collaborating with Northern Californian lumber company Mad River Mass Timber, or MRMT. The company will use Californian trees that otherwise would have either been turned into woodchips or burned in a forest fire to build panels that can be used in new housing and commercial buildings. This is the first time these types of panels will be produced locally in California instead of being shipped in from other countries. The technology to create dowel-laminated timber, or DLT, has existed for decades, but the Berkeley Wood Lab adapted it for use in Californian forests. Through the process of making DLT, glue is not required, which enables the timber to be recycled in the future and turned into new material.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Scientists say multiple Earth system components appear closer to destabilization than previously believed, putting the planet at increased risk of a “hothouse” trajectory driven by feedback loops that can amplify the consequences of global warming. “The risk of a hothouse Earth 
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Human-caused climate change had an important impact on the recent ferocious wildfires that engulfed parts of Chile and Argentina’s Patagonia region, making the extremely high-risk conditions that led to widespread burning up to three times more likely than in a world without global warming, a team of researchers warned on Wednesday. The hot, dry and gusty weather that fed last month’s deadly wildfires in central and southern Chile was made around 200% more likely by human-made greenhouse gas emissions while the high-fire-risk conditions that fueled the blazes still racing through southern Argentina were made 150% more likely, according to World Weather Attribution, a scientific initiative that investigates extreme weather events soon after they happen. That probability will only increase, the experts added, as humans continue to blanket the planet with heat-trapping gases.
FREMONT, Nebraska — Fremont wood processor Horizon Biofuels will be fined up to $147,500 by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration for “willful and serious safety violations after a deadly explosion at the company’s Fremont facility in July 2025,” the US Department of Labor announced. Horizon has until Feb. 19 to decide whether it wants to appeal the citation, according to a spokesperson with the Kansas City OSHA office. …The explosion killed 32-year-old employee Dylan Danielson and his two daughters, both under the age of 12. The violations include “combustible dust buildup, failure to ensure equipment within the facility was protected from creating an ignition source and lack of fall protection for employees working at heights greater than four feet,” the Department of Labor said. …The Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s office also has a pending investigation.