Logs and wood products were included in the trade package discussed during President Donald Trump\u2019s September meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, opening the possibility of lower Chinese tariffs on selected US timber products.<\/p>\n
The White House said the new US\u2013China Board of Trade had agreed recommendations for improved tariff treatment covering about $30 billion of goods in each direction. US exports listed in the package include agricultural products, seafood, logs and wood products, alongside several other sectors.<\/p>\n
For US timber companies, the next question is which products are included. The public announcement does not yet separate hardwood lumber, softwood lumber and logs, nor does it provide the final tariff rates.<\/p>\n
That distinction is important for American sawmills. In July, a bipartisan group of US senators asked the administration to ensure that hardwood lumber was included in the negotiations and that Chinese purchase commitments did not concentrate on logs. Their concern was that easier log exports would support the raw-material trade while leaving much of the sawing, drying and further processing outside the US.<\/p>\n
China has traditionally been a major outlet for US hardwoods. US exports of HS 4407 sawn wood to China reached 434,372 m\u00b3 in January\u2013July 2026, down 14.4% from the same period last year, while export value fell 11.3% to $322.4 million.<\/p>\n
Oak is the largest US sawn-wood category sold to China. In 2025, shipments reached about 437,000 m\u00b3, accounting for more than half of US sawn-wood volume to the Chinese market. Walnut represented a smaller physical volume but a much larger share of value.<\/p>\n
If the final tariff list includes the main hardwood lumber lines, US producers would enter China with a lower import-cost burden at a time when shipments are already below last year\u2019s level. If the framework applies mainly to logs, the benefit would be concentrated further upstream.<\/p>\n
The agreement therefore gives the US wood sector a possible trade opening, but the commercial effect will depend on the product codes, tariff rates and implementation date published in the next stage of the deal.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Logs and wood products were included in the trade package discussed during President Donald Trump\u2019s September meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, opening the possibility of lower Chinese tariffs on selected US timber products. The White House said the new … Continue reading