The United States Department of Commerce is set to hike duties on Canadian softwood lumber to 34 per cent this fall, the latest blow in a dispute with Canada that goes back decades.
“We’re going to need some support measures put in place to help us weather this storm,” Kurt Niquidet, president of the BC Lumber Trade Council and chief economist at the BC Council of Forest Industries, said. “There’s going to be some financial liquidity issues for companies, so the federal government needs to step up and provide some loan support to help us get through this.”
Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its decision to more than double countervailing duties on imports of Canadian softwood lumber to 14.38 per cent from 6.74 per cent. This is in addition to its decision in early March to raise the preliminary rate on anti-dumping duties to 20.07 per cent from 7.66 per cent, bringing the total to 34.45 per cent.
“It’s obviously very concerning,” Ian Dunn, chief executive at the Ontario Forest Industries Association, said. “Even under the existing trade environment, with the duties that we’ve seen historically, we’ve seen companies curtail operations, we’ve seen companies close mills, reductions of shifts and layoffs.”
Existing U.S. duties have already had an impact on the Canadian lumber industry. Vancouver-based Canfor Corp. in September announced the closure of its sawmills in Vanderhoof and Fort St. John, British Columbia, citing an increasingly difficult regulatory environment, high operating costs and “punitive” U.S. tariffs. The decision affected 500 workers.
Full report: Canadian lumber industry dismayed as U.S. tariffs soar | Financial Post