US China Tariff
U.S. hardwood log exports to China reached 380,600 m3 worth USD285 million in January-August 2026, exceeding full-year 2025 shipments.
U.S. hardwood log exporters could receive more favourable access to China after the two countries reached consensus on recommendations for more favourable tariff treatment covering USD30 billion of non-sensitive goods in each direction. U.S. logs and wood products are among the goods identified for more favourable treatment, while the recommendations do not establish that lower tariffs have already taken effect. U.S. hardwood log exports to China reached 380,600 m3 worth USD285 million in January-August 2026, according to China Customs data obtained through Lesprom Analytics.
The tariff recommendations were developed through the U.S.-China Board of Trade, chartered during the two countries’ May 2026 summit in Beijing. The U.S. list also covers agricultural products, fish and seafood, cosmetics and medical devices. Chinese goods recommended for more favourable U.S. tariff treatment include small appliances, toys, holiday decorations and children’s car seats.
The White House fact sheet did not specify the tariff rates that would apply to logs and wood products or when any changes would take effect. The recommendations therefore provide a framework for possible tariff reductions rather than an immediate reduction in duties on U.S. forest products entering China.
U.S. hardwood log shipments to China have recovered in 2026 after shipments effectively halted during much of 2025. January-August shipments of 380,600 m3 exceeded the 274,600 m3 exported during all of 2025 by 39%. Export value reached USD285 million, compared with USD170.4 million for full-year 2025, an increase of 67%.
The average export price also increased. U.S. hardwood logs shipped to China averaged USD748.8 per m3 in January-August 2026, up 21% from the USD620.5 per m3 average recorded in 2025.
Monthly shipments increased from 18,500 m3 in January to 30,700 m3 in February and 37,900 m3 in March. Volumes reached 64,700 m3 in April, fell to 53,200 m3 in May and rose to a 2026 high of 70,500 m3 in June. Shipments then totaled 55,000 m3 in July and 50,200 m3 in August.
Prices moved in the opposite direction during much of the period. The average export price was USD960 per m3 in January before declining to USD817 per m3 in February and March, USD767 per m3 in April and USD778 per m3 in May. It fell to USD695 per m3 in June, was USD697 per m3 in July and declined to USD655 per m3 in August.
The 2026 recovery followed a collapse in shipments beginning in May 2025. U.S. hardwood log exports to China totaled 79,100 m3 in January 2025, 67,200 m3 in February, 64,100 m3 in March and 56,900 m3 in April. Shipments dropped to 7,230 m3 in May and 46 m3 in June, with no volumes recorded from July through December.
China agreed in November 2025 to resume purchases of U.S. hardwood and softwood logs under a trade agreement with the United States. The reopening provided U.S. exporters with renewed access to a market that had historically been one of the largest destinations for American hardwood logs.
Before the 2025 disruption, U.S. hardwood log exports to China reached 969,800 m3 worth USD612.4 million in 2024. The average export price that year was USD631 per m3. Volumes had reached a decade high of 1.2 million m3 in 2018, when exports were valued at USD559.2 million.
From 2015 through 2024, the United States exported a combined 8.6 million m3 of hardwood logs to China with a value of USD4.2 billion. Annual volumes increased from 564,400 m3 in 2015 to 797,800 m3 in 2016 and 1.17 million m3 in 2017 before reaching a decade high of 1.22 million m3 in 2018.
Exports fell to 658,400 m3 in 2019 before recovering to 723,100 m3 in 2020 and 879,300 m3 in 2021. Shipments totaled 836,500 m3 in 2022, 781,500 m3 in 2023 and 969,800 m3 in 2024.
China’s overall demand for imported logs has declined substantially from its 2021 peak. The country imported 20.9 million m3 of logs in January-August 2026, comprising 15.7 million m3 of softwood logs and 5.2 million m3 of hardwood logs. Full-year imports totaled 31.3 million m3 in 2025, including 23.9 million m3 of softwood and 7.4 million m3 of hardwood.
China imported 36 million m3 of logs in 2024 and 38 million m3 in 2023. Imports were substantially higher in 2021, reaching 63.6 million m3. That included 49.9 million m3 of softwood logs and 13.7 million m3 of hardwood logs.
The proposed tariff treatment also comes as U.S. lawmakers have sought greater Chinese market access for processed hardwood products. Thirty-two U.S. lawmakers sent a June 30 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer urging the administration to explicitly include American hardwood lumber in the U.S.-China Board of Trade framework and to include hardwood lumber, rather than logs, in China’s procurement commitments.
The lawmakers argued that exports of raw logs allow processing to take place outside the United States, while expanded hardwood lumber exports would retain more manufacturing activity at U.S. sawmills. The tariff recommendations announced in September cover U.S. logs and wood products, but the White House has not published product-level tariff rates or detailed the treatment that individual hardwood products would receive.
Source: Lesprom Network
