US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to launch an investigation into the impact of lumber and timber imports on America’s national security. Trump directed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to initiate the probe. He said the United States faces \”significant\” vulnerabilities in the wood supply chain from imported timber, lumber and their derivative products being dumped onto the U.S. market. A White House official mentioned South Korea and China as he stressed the probe will also target derivative products, including kitchen cabinets. It is to proceed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 that allows the president to impose import restrictions if an import threatens to hurt national security, reports Yonhap news agency. Last month, Trump said he was weighing a 25 per cent tariff on lumber and wood products. He also inked an order designed to increase domestic timber production and help reduce construction and housing costs in the US. The latest action came after Trump signed an order on Tuesday to investigate how copper imports threaten America’s economic stability, in a move that could lead to the imposition of new tariffs on the metal used to produce aircraft, vehicles, ships and other military hardware.
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to launch an i….
