Donald Trump is “strongly considering” sanctions and tariffs on Russia in hopes of forcing a settlement to its war with Ukraine. Posting on Truth Social, President Trump said the sanctions could remain in place until a ceasefire and a “final settlement agreement on peace” was reached.
“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large-scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease-Fire and final settlement agreement on peace is reached,” the president posted on Truth Social. He added: “To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now before it is too late. Thank you!!!”
Plywood has emerged as an important lifeline for Putin
It comes after the US Decorative Hardwood Association (DHA) wrote to the Commerce Department and the Office of the US Trade Representative urging action on more than $420m worth of Russian birch plywood, which they said “continues to finance the Russian war effort.”
“In 2024, the United States imported over $62 million of birch plywood from Russia,” the letter said. “However, these direct imports from Russia pale compared to the nearly $200 million of birch plywood imported from Vietnam and the nearly $160 million imported from Indonesia.”
The DHA’s letter addressed to the Commerce Department and the Office of the US Trade Representative, dated 29th of January 2025.
“These imports come in at low or no tariff rates despite being made with Russian-origin birch. All plywood made with Russian-origin wood and wood inputs, whether imported directly from Russia or a third country after further processing, helps support the Russian war effort,” it said.
Heavy sanctions alone might not stop the flow of Russian wood.
Last month, Wood Central revealed that Russian timber was “all over Europe” – after a report published by Earthsight showed that more than 500,000 cubic metres of Russian wood had successfully circumvented the EU’s war sanctions and infiltrated every member state since the start of the war.
The report, Blood-stained Birch: Exposing the EU Trade in Russian Conflict Ply, revealed that profit-hungry timber traffickers were incorrectly using private forest certification labels – like FSC – to launder more than 20 lorry loads of illegal wood (about 700 cubic metres) into Europe via China, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Georgia every day.
“Independent third-party certification, such as that provided by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the world’s largest green label for wood, cannot be trusted (by itself). We found illegal birch plywood is being routinely laundered by FSC-certified companies and provided with false FSC invoices and labels.”
Private forest certification, like FSC and PEFC play an important role in supporting claims around sustainablity, however they can be easily manipulated and must be verified through invoices and Chain of Custody claims.
However, addressing the surge in Russian (and Belarussian) wood may not be a problem around enforcement; instead, how the rules are designed. “Stable isotope and trace technology is increasingly capable of showing where wood is harvested,” it said. “Given this, and to aid enforcement, the EU should amend timber sanctions to include all products made from wood harvested from Russia and Belarus, regardless of whether products were manufactured in a third country.”
“In theory, the EUTR (Europe’s timber regulation) should already be blocking such products, but it has proven unable to do so,” the report continues. “Placing them under the sanction regime – something for which there is precedence given the sanctions on Russian steel – would be clearer and easier to enforce and open the door to more meaningful and dissuasive penalties.”
- To learn more about the shadow trade in Russian timber, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
