WASHINGTON — This week, President Donald Trump announced $12 billion of support for America’s farmers, some of whom have struggled in the face of his trade wars.
According to the Agriculture Department, most of the funds will go to a relief program for farmers who produce row crops like corn, cotton and chickpeas.
The remaining $1 billion will be set aside for commodities like specialty crops, and that’s where America’s struggling hardwood sector is hoping to find relief.
“We think we have a pretty good case to show with a lot of data that we have that the industry is facing some serious, serious challenges and that the industry has declined and jobs are being lost, production is down, international markets are down,” said Dana Lee Cole, executive director of the industry group, the Hardwood Federation.
Ray White, a fourth-generation lumberman from Rowan County, shared his frustration with the president’s tariffs back in October.
“Speaking from our industry side … they’re counterproductive to our industry, they’re actually harming our industry,” White told Spectrum News.
According to the Hardwood Federation, China bought half of America’s hardwood lumber exports before President Trump’s 2018 tariffs on Chinese goods resulted in a 25% retaliatory tariff that continues to hurt the industry even after it was lifted.
On top of that, the industry says substitute materials made to mimic the look and feel of hardwood are gaining market share.
The federation said that from 2022 to 2024, hardwood lumber exports fell 20% or $663 million and the industry lost 40,000 U.S. jobs, a drop of 10%.
“We will definitely be talking to some of our champions in Congress to support our ask and support our outreach,” Cole said. “We will definitely be talking to those people in the administration that have been identified as those that are studying the situation and making the evaluations.”
When asked if the hardwood sector would be included in this round of aid, the USDA responded by directing Spectrum News to the agency’s news release.
The release says nothing specific about the industry, but shows the agency is accepting submissions from those looking to receive aid.