The U.S. Commerce Department issued a decision last week raising countervailing and anti-dumping duties for most Canadian softwood lumber to 18.32 percent. The current rate is 8.99 percent. Canfor Corp. and Resolute Forest Products Ltd. will be charged even higher tariffs. The rates, which are subject to further review before going into effect six months from now, were set based on data from 2019. Lumber prices have risen steeply since then.
The B.C. Lumber Trade Council deplored the move. President Susan Yurkovich said in a statement that it “will ultimately further hurt American consumers by adding to their costs.” In the U.S., the perennial softwood issue divides homebuilders, who are pressing the Biden administration for a negotiated settlement, and lumber lobbyists who hope the tariffs will encourage domestic manufacturing.
