Warsaw, 23 April 2025 – The industry webinar “Plywood market under pressure: sanctions, tariffs and regulations – what’s next for international trade?”, organised by Employers of Poland in cooperation with PAGED Plywood S.A., the Association of Wood-Based Panel Producers in Poland, the National Revenue Administration (KAS) and the law firm Rymarz Zdort Maruta, gathered 247 registered participants, 176 of whom actively took part in the live broadcast.
The event was opened by Jarosław Michniuk, Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of PAGED Plywood S.A., who presented the current state of the European plywood market and the dynamic changes in import directions:
“The plywood market in Europe is not just difficult – it is structurally distorted. We are facing unfair competition, sanction circumvention, smuggling and document forgery. This is no longer just a challenge for the industry – it’s a challenge for institutions and the entire trade regulation system in Europe.”
Dr Anna Partyka-Opiela, Partner at Rymarz Zdort Maruta, presented the legal basis of EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus, including the mechanisms of criminal liability for circumventing them:
“The new EU directive clearly states – you can no longer claim ‘we didn’t know’. Companies must conduct risk assessments and verify their contractors. Violating sanctions against Russia and Belarus will now lead to criminal liability also for individuals – this is no longer a recommendation, it is an obligation.”
Bartosz Bezubik, Vice-President of the Association of Wood-Based Panel Producers in Poland, and Jarosław Michniuk discussed examples of sanction circumvention and current antidumping proceedings against Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, China and Brazil:
“Chinese producers are changing tariff codes and product structures just to bypass duties. In Brazil, we are seeing dumping prices that have nothing to do with real production costs. The EU must respond firmly – in the interest of European industry and fair trade,”
Representatives of the National Revenue Administration (KAS): Jacek Przypaśniak – Deputy Director of the Revenue Administration Regional Office in Katowice, Plenipotentiary of the Head of the National Revenue Administration for analytical actions in the field of compliance with restrictive measures imposed on the Russian Federation and Belarus in connection with the war in Ukraine, and Superintendent Monika Horosz, Deputy Head of the Podlaskie Customs and Revenue Office in Białystok – emphasised the importance of cooperation with the industry and the effectiveness of the actions taken:
“From the moment the current KAS management took office in December 2023, eliminating sanction violations has become one of KAS’s top priorities. A number of organisational and legal actions have been taken at many levels (border controls, post-release inspections, motions to add entities to the sanctions list). The visible effects today are undoubtedly the result of these efforts,”
“Plywood is becoming a sensitive commodity for EU institutions—it’s only a matter of time. Companies already have to conduct risk analyses and verify the origin of goods to prepare for further tightening of regulations. It is no longer possible to claim ignorance.”
📺 A recording of the event is available here:
About the Paged Group:
Founded over 90 years ago, Paged is currently one of the five largest plywood manufacturers and a major producer of wooden chairs in the European Union. It employs approximately 1,700 people and has a total of five production plants in Poland and Estonia. It offers innovative solutions and products that are used in many industries, such as interior design and furnishing, construction, transport, and packaging in nearly 80 markets around the world. Since 2019, Paged has been developing and implementing technological and product innovations based on the unique competencies of its own research and development center, Paged LabTech.
Paged’s subsidiaries: Paged Pisz, Paged Morąg, Paged Eesti, Paged Trade, Paged Meble, Paged LabTech, Paged Deutschland and BUK Ltd. are part of the Thumos Group, a private Polish industrial and investment consortium.
🌐 https://pagedplywood.com/
Media contact:
Magdalena Kicińska, magdalena.kicinska@paged.pl, tel.: +48 725520874
