U.S. hikes duty on Canadian softwood lumber to 17.9% — twice the old rate
Ongoing trade dispute goes back decades
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- New tariff will add about $99 to the cost of a thousand board-feet of wood in U.S.
Officials from various Canadian governments and the lumber industry are expressing disappointment that the U.S. has decided to go ahead with a plan to double the amount of duty it imposes on softwood lumber that comes from Canada.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Commerce said it will proceed to impose duties of 17.9 per cent, on average on softwood lumber imported from Canada. That's twice the previous 8.99 per cent rate.
In May, the U.S. government said it planned to hike the rate to 18.32 per cent, but after further analysis over the summer the agency decided to ratchet down that plan, but still double the levy.
The U.S. says Canadian lumber producers dump their product into the U.S. at a lower price than American lumber companies can because they are subsidized. So the U.S. puts a tariff on all softwood lumber from Canada to raise its price at the retail level, which encourages consumers to buy American wood.
Canada has long rejected those allegations, and various trade tribunals on the matter have found in Canada's favour.
"At every step of the way, rulings have found Canada to be a fair trading partner," International Trade Minister Mary Ng said in a news release, in which she expressed how "disappointed" Ottawa was in the decision.
"The United States has long relied on Canadian lumber products to meet its domestic needs for high-quality building materials," Ng said.
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