The US Central Bureau of Statistics data for February shows that the volume of imports of Russian birch plywood reached 11,300 cubic meters. Russian government-backed oligarchs, including Svez owner Alexei Mordashov, have made huge profits thanks to $360 million worth of transactions that have not been restricted or stopped by US control agencies.<\/p>\n
The Decorative Hardwoods Association has warned Washington that every dollar spent on Russian-origin birch plywood in Baltimore and Houston, as well as in ports along the US East Coast, helps maintain the Russian \u201cwar machine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Russian plywood shipments to U.S. ports are on the rise. In February, imports rose 42% year-on-year to 11,300 cubic meters. Plywood exporters linked to Russian government-backed oligarchs are among the biggest beneficiaries of the U.S.\u2019s rapidly expanding trade with Russia.<\/p>\n
The sharp increase achieved by Russian timber producers comes after volumes fell by more than 23% at the end of last year. This milestone marked the largest monthly increase in recent memory. As things stand, the US remains Russia's third-largest plywood export market behind Thailand and China , according to the US Decorative Hardwoods Association , with huge shipments of Russian birch plywood also arriving in the US via third-country ports in Vietnam and Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Until US President Donald Trump lifted sanctions on Russian oil, lumber accounted for more than 50% of all trade between the two countries. The Decorative Hardwoods Association reported to the US Department of Commerce that the $62 million worth of Russian plywood imports in 2024 were minuscule compared to the $360 million that entered the US through companies in Vietnam and Indonesia, where manufacturers process Russian birch before shipping it to ports. The Decorative Hardwoods Association warned that all Russian plywood, whether imported directly or further processed through third-country ports, \u201chelps Russia finance its war in Ukraine\u201d because all of it enters the US at low or zero tariffs.<\/p>\n
All this comes as President Trump has temporarily eased a series of sanctions on Russian oil in an attempt to stabilize the global energy market, which has been rocked by the war in Iran and the resulting closure of key shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz. The Center for Eurasian Strategy has said that this could make Russia a potential mediator between Washington and Tehran. The White House has confirmed that the move is aimed at reducing the rise in global oil prices, while the Peterson Institute for International Economics says that the sanctions relief could provide significant financial support to Moscow's war economy.<\/p>\n
Of course, all of this provides direct financial support to oligarchs like Alexei Mordashov, one of Russia\u2019s richest men and the owner of Russia\u2019s largest plywood producer, Sveza . Mordashov supports Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He has facilitated the delivery of Russian veneer plywood to U.S. ports, including Baltimore and Houston. Mordashov reduced his stake in Sveza to 49 percent precisely to avoid U.S. sanctions while continuing to make personal profits from Sveza\u2019s exports to North America.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n