British Columbia’s lumber industry is bracing for another hit after the latest U.S. tariff announcement on foreign wood products.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday an additional 10 per cent duty on Canadian softwood lumber will take effect Oct. 14.
Trump said the move followed a report from his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, who said the volume of wood products being imported into the U.S. could pose a national security risk.
Speaking at an event in Langford Wednesday, Premier David Eby said Canadian lumber is now facing more barriers to the U.S. market than Russian lumber.
“It is this kind of absurdity that we are seeing from the White House that is driving a global slow-down in the economy,” said Eby.
The head of the British Columbia Lumber Trade Council (BCLTC) calls the tariffs “misguided and unnecessary.”
“These tariffs will not improve U.S. national security — they will only drive-up lumber costs, making housing even less affordable for American families and undermining the integrated trade relationship that benefits both our countries,” said president Kurt Niquidet in a statement.
The organization said U.S. producers already meet most domestic demand for lumber, and Canadian exports help stabilize the market and prevent shortages for American consumers.
It said the additional tariff will raise import taxes on Canadian softwood lumber to more than 45 per cent.
“This will impose needless strain on the North American market, threaten jobs on both sides of the border, and make it harder to address the housing supply crisis in the United States,” said the BCLTC.
Trump’s proclamation also includes a 25 per cent tariff on kitchen cabinets, vanities and upholstered wood products, with the threat of even steeper levies coming in January.
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