WASHINGTON — Ray White, a fourth-generation lumberman, runs a family mill in Rowan County, Kentucky, that has supplied hardwood materials from eastern Kentucky forests to global markets for 57 years. But he says the industry may not survive another round of tariffs.
What You Need to Know
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Hundreds of small lumber and logging businesses are urging President Donald Trump to include their industry in any tariff relief programs.
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Many are still recovering from the 2018 trade war that devastated exports.
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Over two dozen Kentucky businesses signed a letter to four Trump administration cabinet secretaries.
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The letter warned that “additional retaliatory tariffs and more trade uncertainty could devastate the industry beyond repair.”
White said business has never been the same since Trump’s first trade war.
“At that time, we were doing about 35% of our sales to Southeast Asia,” White explained. “Today, I’m doing less than 5%.”
According to the Hardwood Federation, China once bought half of America’s hardwood lumber exports. That changed after Trump’s 2018 tariffs on Chinese goods prompted a 25% retaliatory tariff — a blow from which the industry has struggled to recover, even after the tariffs were lifted.
Now, with Trump promising more tariffs in a potential second term, fear has returned.
“Tariffs are counterproductive to our industry,” White said. “They’re actually harming us.”
White and his brother have already cut staff by 20%, postponed equipment upgrades, and reduced their own salaries by half just to stay afloat.
“At this point in my life, I never imagined working this hard, this many hours, and not making any money,” he said. “Most of the time, we’re losing money — and that’s true across the industry.”
During the first trade war, the administration extended billions in aid to farmers, but the hardwood industry was left out. This week, hundreds of lumber businesses — including many from Kentucky — sent a joint letter to four cabinet secretaries, pleading for inclusion in any future relief programs.
“We fear that additional retaliatory tariffs and more trade uncertainty could devastate the industry beyond repair,” the letter stated. “Many operations have already closed this year, while others are surviving only by scaling back.”
“There are so many of us on the edge of the cliff,” White said. “This could definitely be the final nail in the coffin for a great industry that’s now just a shadow of what we once were.”
White House spokesman Kush Desai responded, saying, “President Trump’s historic proclamation on lumber tariffs explicitly directs the Secretary of Commerce to update the President on market conditions to inform potential future tariff decisions, including on hardwood lumber. The Trump administration remains committed to the success of every American industry, every American company, and every American worker.”
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