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BC Lumber Trade Council President sounds off on US doubling softwood lumber tariffs

“It’s blatant protectionism”

That’s the verdict from BC Lumber Trade Council President Susan Yurkovich after finding out the United States doubled its tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber products.

The new rate will be 17.9%, eclipsing the current mark of 8.99%

Yurkovich told Vista Radio the forest sector is facing its fair share of uncertainty.

“We’ve got new legislation, which you know allows tenures to be taken back, we have the deferrals (old growth) and now we have 20% duties. There’s a lot of headwinds facing the industry.”

“When our sector is facing uncertainty and a lot of headwinds it has impacts across our entire province and many families and communities that are dependent on our sector unfortunately are going to be hurt if we continue to have this level of uncertainty in our industry.”

Yurkovich stated it’s not immediately known if this will lead to more curtailment or shutdowns at northern sawmills at this point.

However, she did state it won’t be just Canadians who are going to suffer from the rate hike.

“What’s really incredible is that consumers in the US have consistently borne the brunt of this protectionist policy. It’s hard to understand why this is allowed to continue but it is and they use their trade laws very effectively.”

“It’s just blatant protectionism. They want to make our products more expensive and those duties eventually work into the pricing of lumber and so it pushes the prices up artificially high and allows them to reap additional gains,” added Yurkovich.

Yurkovich also hinted it will take more than the Biden administration to fix this long-standing issue between the two countries.

“The US government can’t bind the industry. The industry in the US has to be at the table and to this point, they have not been willing to come and work towards the solution. It’s really unfortunate given we are creating low-carbon products the world wants and American families need.”

Yesterday (Thursday), Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told the media Canada is prepared to retaliate against an American increase of duties on softwood lumber producers.

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Brendan Pawliw
Brendan Pawliw
Since moving to Prince George in 2015, Brendan has covered local sports including the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, Prince George Spruce Kings, UNBC Timberwolves, Cariboo Cougars AAA, and Northern Capitals U18 female hockey teams. Career highlights include play-by-play during the Spruce Kings' BCHL championship runs in 2018 and 2019, including the Doyle Cup win. He also covered the 2019 National Junior A Championship, the 2017 Telus Cup, the 2022 World Women’s Curling Championship, and the 2022 BC Summer Games. Brendan is the news voice on 94.3 The Goat and Country 97 FM, reporting on crime, real estate, labour, and environmental issues. Outside of work, he officiates box lacrosse and fastball, sits on the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame board, and co-hosts the Hockey North podcast.

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