The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock, representing U.S. pulp, tissue, paper, and paper-based packaging manufacturers, today issued the following statement: “AF&PA appreciates the U.S. government’s engagement in securing an initial EU trade deal that will advance reciprocal, fair and balanced trade between our two economies. As non-tariff trade barrier negotiations continue – and to further support U.S. forest product producers' ability to continue shipping over $3.5 billion in essential products to the EU – we urge the Administration to secure a U.S. exemption from the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). “As recognized by USTR’s April National Trade Estimate Report, EUDR in its current form fails to recognize the realities of robust sustainable forest management (SFM) systems in the United States. Although the United States is not a source of global deforestation concerns, it is subject to many of the same burdensome obligations as countries with high deforestation risks. EUDR’s key compliance barrier, strict geolocation traceability, constitutes a significant non-tariff trade barrier, especially given the nature of U.S. pulp & paper supply chains.

As contract talks drag on, tensions are rising at West Coast ports. Following a shutdown at the Ports of Oakland and Long Beach, which combine to form the country’s largest cargo complex, over the weekend, the National Retail Federation called on the Biden Administration to intervene. (At least one terminal at the Port of Long Beach shut Monday, according to reports.) The new disruptions come as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association have failed to reach and ratify a new labor agreement following more than a year of negotiations.

Futures were 0.4 percent lower in New York after falling 4.2 percent the previous three sessions. U.S. production had its biggest weekly gain since the end of June, climbing to the highest level since July 2015, according to Energy Information Administration data Wednesday. The increase offset the price impact of an 8.95-million-barrel decline in crude stockpiles, the biggest drop since September. U.S. crude output rose by 79,000 barrels a day last week to 9.5 million a day, the EIA reported. Crude stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI and the biggest U.S. oil-storage hub, expanded a second week to 57 million barrels. Gasoline inventories climbed by 22,000 barrels to 231 million. Click Read More below for additional detail.