B.C. Lumber Dispute Flares

British Columbia wood manufacturers say the Canada-United States softwood lumber fight is now a “broken process” after Washington posted a new preliminary duty rate on Canadian shipments. (vancouver.citynews.ca) The Independent Wood Processors Association reacted on April 10 after the United States Department of Commerce set a preliminary combined anti-dumping and anti-subsidy rate of 24.83 percent in its seventh annual review. The current cash deposit rate at the border remains 35.16 percent until the review is finalized later in 2026. (uslumbercoalition.org) Brian Menzies, the association’s executive director, said processors that buy logs and lumber at market prices are being swept into a case aimed at companies accused of benefiting from subsidized Crown timber. He said the final rate is expected in August, but the group does not know whether it will produce a real reduction. (vancouver.citynews.ca) Softwood lumber is the framing wood used in houses, apartments and many commercial buildings, and this dispute has run for decades. British Columbia says the last cross-border agreement expired on October 12, 2015, and the current round began after a United States industry petition filed on November 25, 2016. (www2.gov.bc.ca) British Columbia says Canada has spent years challenging the duties through the United States Court of International Trade, the World Trade Organization and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, while the processors’ group says those channels have not delivered “meaningful progress.” The province’s page lists a new eighth administrative review launched on March 9, 2026, covering shipments made in 2025. (www2.gov.bc.ca) (vancouver.citynews.ca) Canadian governments are pressing the same point from another angle: Ontario said on April 10 that even a lower preliminary duty would still leave an unjustified charge that “drive[s] up the cost of construction and make[s] housing less affordable.” British Columbia Premier David Eby said the United States cannot meet its own wood demand and has turned to more imports from Europe and Russia. (news.ontario.ca) (halifax.citynews.ca) The United States lumber lobby is arguing the opposite. The U.S. Lumber Coalition said the April 9 preliminary review confirms that Canadian producers are still being subsidized and dumping lumber into the American market, and it said Canadian exporters have already paid $6.8 billion in duties through 2024. (uslumbercoalition.org) The trade fight now sits on top of separate Section 232 tariffs. Global Affairs Canada says the United States imposed a 10 percent global tariff on softwood timber and lumber on October 14, 2025, and that charge remains in effect. (international.gc.ca) That leaves British Columbia processors arguing that a lower preliminary number is not a settlement, not a refund and not a fix. Their message to Ottawa and Washington is that after nearly 10 years of reviews and appeals, they want direct negotiations instead of another season of litigation. (vancouver.citynews.ca)