Lumber duties stay high

The United States cut its preliminary trade-duty rate on most Canadian softwood lumber, but a separate 10 percent national-security tariff still keeps the total border charge near 35 percent. (woodcentral.com.au) The Commerce Department’s seventh administrative review set a new preliminary combined anti-dumping and countervailing duty rate of 24.83 percent on lumber imported from Canada in calendar year 2024. The current combined trade-duty rate had been 35.16 percent, according to reporting on the review and industry statements released April 9 and April 13, 2026. (uslumbercoalition.org) (woodcentral.com.au) That lower review rate does not yet change what importers pay in practice. A presidential proclamation published October 6, 2025 imposed a 10 percent Section 232 tariff on imported softwood timber and lumber, and industry groups on both sides say that keeps the effective burden on Canadian lumber at about 34.83 percent until the review is finalized, expected in late August 2026. (federalregister.gov) (bclumbertrade.com) (woodcentral.com.au) The split matters because these are two different trade tools. Anti-dumping and countervailing duties are meant to offset what Washington says are unfair pricing and subsidy practices, while Section 232 tariffs are imposed after a national-security investigation under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. (getfea.com) (federalregister.gov) The White House said in September 2025 that imported wood products threatened United States national security because mill closures and weaker domestic capacity could disrupt supply for defense and critical infrastructure. The proclamation took effect after Commerce sent the president its Section 232 report on July 1, 2025. (whitehouse.gov) (federalregister.gov) The current fight sits inside a much older dispute. The Commerce notice for this review says the present countervailing duty order dates to January 3, 2018, while congressional researchers say the broader softwood lumber conflict has cycled through agreements, cases, and new tariffs since the 1980s after the 2006 bilateral agreement expired in 2015. (getfea.com) (congress.gov) United States producers welcomed the April 9 preliminary review. The U.S. Lumber Coalition said Commerce again found “unfairly traded” Canadian imports and argued that Canada should curb subsidized production rather than press for lower duties. (prnewswire.com) Canadian industry groups said the opposite. The British Columbia Lumber Trade Council called the duties “unjustified and punitive” and said the combined 34.83 percent burden raises costs for builders and homebuyers in the United States while hurting mills and workers in British Columbia. (bclumbertrade.com) Home builders have also warned that lumber tariffs feed directly into construction costs. The National Association of Home Builders said the United States imports roughly one-third of the lumber it consumes and that Canada supplies about 85 percent of those imports, which is why the group has argued that wood-product tariffs add pressure to an already strained housing market. (lbmjournal.com) The next marker is the final Commerce determination expected in late August 2026. Until then, the headline rate may be lower on paper, but the bill at the border stays close to 35 percent. (woodcentral.com.au)