Lumber tariff friction lingers

British Columbia Premier David Eby said the United States is still taxing Canadian softwood lumber heavily and buying more wood from Europe and Russia instead. (woodcentral.com.au) Eby made the remarks on Friday, April 10, at the British Columbia Council of Forest Industries conference in Vancouver, where about 650 delegates gathered. He said the United States does not have enough domestic supply to meet its own demand and is forcing American buyers to source farther afield. (woodcentral.com.au) Wood Central reported that British Columbia producers are absorbing about 45 percent in combined tariffs and duties on softwood exports to the United States. On April 9, the U.S. Commerce Department’s seventh annual review also set a preliminary combined anti-dumping and countervailing duty rate of 24.83 percent on Canadian softwood lumber imports covering calendar year 2024. (woodcentral.com.au) (prnewswire.com) Softwood lumber is a basic framing material for houses, renovations, and repairs, and the dispute has been running for decades. A Congressional Research Service report says the current fight began after the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement expired in October 2015 and the United States reimposed anti-dumping and countervailing duties in 2017. (congress.gov) The trade case sits on top of newer tariffs. Canada’s Global Affairs department says the United States imposed a separate 10 percent global Section 232 tariff on softwood timber and lumber on October 14, 2025, and those rates remain in effect. (international.gc.ca) Home builders say those costs do not stay at the border. The National Association of Home Builders says Canada supplies roughly 85 percent of U.S. softwood lumber imports and nearly one-quarter of total U.S. supply, and its April 2025 survey found builders estimated recent tariff actions were adding about $10,900 to the cost of a typical home. (nahb.org) U.S. producers argue the duties are justified. The U.S. Lumber Coalition said on April 9 that the Commerce findings show Canada continues to subsidize and dump softwood lumber into the U.S. market, which is the core American claim in the dispute. (uslumbercoalition.org) Canadian officials reject that framing. The Congressional Research Service says Canadian officials deny their forest policies are subsidies and argue Canada’s advantage comes from industry efficiency, while Ottawa has continued to challenge U.S. duties through trade panels and legal reviews. (congress.gov) (international.gc.ca) Eby used the Vancouver conference to press Ottawa to make lumber a priority in talks with Washington and to push export diversification at the same time. He pointed to British Columbia trade missions and investment in value-added wood manufacturing and mass-timber construction as the province tries to steady mills hit by tariffs, weather damage, and slow permitting. (woodcentral.com.au) The dispute now leaves builders, mill towns, and trade officials waiting on the same question that has lingered since 2015: whether the United States and Canada can reach a new lumber deal before another round of duties hardens into the next baseline. (congress.gov)