Forestry Protection Act

Summary#

This bill would reduce by 50% any duty or importer fee (a covered import restriction) on a finished forestry product if the importer proves to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that the product contains 100 percent raw wood material that originated in the United States. The bill directs CBP, working with the U.S. Trade Representative, to issue rules within 90 days to implement the change, including verification and fraud-prevention procedures. The bill defines finished forestry products and raw wood material by specific Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheadings and lists the trade authorities it covers.

The bill also adds a requirement that the President may not impose or change a duty or other import restriction for a finished forestry product under the listed trade authorities unless the action is published in the Federal Register at least 90 days before it takes effect. The published notice must include the rate or amount, the legal basis, each affected finished forestry product and its HTS code, the justification, and the proposed effective date. The notice must allow at least 60 days for public written comments.

What it means for you#

  • Importers of finished wood goods: If you can show CBP that the goods are made entirely from U.S.-origin raw wood, duties and covered importer fees on those goods would be cut in half.
  • Customs and trade officials: CBP must create verification and anti-fraud rules within 90 days, in consultation with the U.S. Trade Representative.
  • Parties affected by new tariffs or import restrictions on listed wood products: The President must publish a 90-day advance notice in the Federal Register with specified information, and the public gets at least 60 days to comment.
  • Which products are affected: The bill uses HTS categories to define raw wood (subheadings 4401–4407) and finished forestry products (subheadings 4408–4421 and additional HTS codes listed in the added notification section).

Expenses#

No publicly available information on estimated costs or savings is included in the bill text. The bill does require CBP rulemaking within 90 days, but it does not provide cost estimates or funding details.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.