Tariffs on Canadian softwood could reach more than 50% this year

U.S. lumber producers applaud the higher tariffs, say they can supply most of the needed wood

Tariffs on Canadian softwood could reach more than 50% this year

U.S. lumber producers applaud the higher tariffs, say they can supply most of the needed wood

If all the tariffs being considered by the Trump administration on Canada softwood are implemented, the tax could reach more than 50%, news services report.

The actual level of the tariffs depends on who is doing the counting. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), for instance, states that the U.S. Department of Commerce had previously placed an anti-subsidy and anti-dumping tariff of 14.5% on Canadian lumber.

Then came last week’s announcement from President Donald Trump that most goods imported from Canada and Mexico would be subject to a 25% tariff. While that tariff was later paused for one month, if that tariff does end up being implemented on April 2, as expected, then the duty on Canadian wood products would jump to 39.5%.

Moreover, NAHB reports that the Commerce Department is considering plans to roughly double the original 14.5% tariff rate later this year, possibly in September. That would push the overall tariff rate to about 54%. NAHB speculates that the overall tariff could even approach 60% by the fall.

Canadian news services have offered slightly different takes on the issue, with BNN Bloomberg estimating the total duty bill at 51.81%. But the result is still expected to cripple the Canadian timber industry, which provides about 30% of the U.S. homebuilding industry’s softwood lumber.

“If all of these taxes move forward, it’s hard to see how parts of the Canadian paper and forestry products sector aren’t ravaged,” analysts with Bank of Nova Scotia wrote in a note to clients on March 3, before the anti-dumping duty increase was announced, according to news services.

The U.S. Lumber Coalition, an alliance of large and small softwood lumber producers, have applauded the Trump administration’s tariff move and say that Canadian wood producers were using unfair trade practices to dump softwood lumber on the U.S. market. The coalition said that the American lumber industry and forestry sector has the current capacity to supply nearly all U.S. lumber needs, but the federal government must stop Canadian lumber from being traded unfairly.

“If Canada does not like the import duties, simply stop engaging in unfair trade and stop violating our trade laws,” said Zoltan van Heyningen, the coalition’s executive director, in a statement. “It’s not complicated.”

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