OTTAWA — The Trudeau government has promised to defend Canada’s softwood lumber industry in the wake of new anti-dumping duties announced by the U.S. Commerce Department. The preliminary tariffs add an average of 6.87% to the current countervailing duties of 19.88%. Announced in April, the latter are set to expire on August 27, with the two rates overlapping until then for a total average of about 27%.
As the investigation by the U.S. gets under way, increased tariffs are threatened, while Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island are excluded from the investigation.
Natural Resources minister Jim Carr and Foreign Affairs minister Chrystia Freeland teamed up to denounce the “unfair and punitive anti-dumping duties,” promising to “vigorously defend Canada’s softwood lumber industry, including through litigation, and we expect to prevail as we have in the past,” while remaining optimistic about the prospect of a negotiated settlement.
