Lumber Coalition applauds tariff increase
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Commerce issued Nov. 24 its final determination in the second administrative review of softwood lumber imports from Canada.

In response, the U.S. Lumber Coalition issued the following statement:

“… the combined anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duty rate of 17.9% confirms yet again that Canadian imports are unfairly subsidized and traded into the U.S. market,” the statement read. 

"The U.S. Lumber Coalition thanks the Commerce Department's for their hard work and continued commitment to strongly enforce the U.S. trade laws against unfairly traded Canadian lumber imports," said Jason Brochu, chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition and co-president of Pleasant River Lumber Co. "Trade law enforcement maximizes long-term domestic production and lumber availability and has already resulted in dramatic growth of U.S. made lumber to meet strong deand to build more American homes."

U.S. sawmill investment and capacity expansion has been robust since the filing of the trade cases by the U.S. Lumber Coalition in 2016. The U.S. industry appears on track to have produced an additional 17.5 billion boardfeet of lumber through 2021, averaging 3.5 billion a year. These increases have more than offset any decline in unfairly traded Canadian imports and are enough lumber to build about 1.2 million single-family American homes.

"The U.S. Lumber Coalition strongly urges the Administration to continue full trade law enforcement. More U.S. lumber being produced in America to meet domestic demand is a direct result of the enforcement. A level playing field is critical for the continued investment and growth of the domestic lumber industry and its hundreds of thousands of workers and thousands of communities across the United States," concluded Brochu.  

The U.S. industry remains open to a new U.S.–Canada softwood lumber trade agreement if and when Canada can demonstrate that it is serious about negotiations for an agreement that offsets the injury caused by Canadian unfair trade to U.S. producers, workers, and timberland holders.  Until then, the U.S. Lumber Coalition fully supports the continued strong enforcement of the U.S. trade laws to address Canada's unfair softwood lumber trade practices.

For more information on the lumber coalition, click here. 
 

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Larry Adams | Editor

Larry Adams is a Chicago-based writer and editor who writes about how things get done. A former wire service and community newspaper reporter, Larry is an award-winning writer with more than three decades of experience. In addition to writing about woodworking, he has covered science, metrology, metalworking, industrial design, quality control, imaging, Swiss and micromanufacturing . He was previously a Tabbie Award winner for his coverage of nano-based coatings technology for the automotive industry. Larry volunteers for the historic preservation group, the Kalo Foundation/Ianelli Studios, and the science-based group, Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST).