U.S. Lumber Coalition Supports Commerce Department Continued Enforcement of Trade Laws

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the preliminary determination of a combined anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duty rate of 11.64% in the third annual review of unfairly traded Canadian softwood lumber imports into the United States. The annual reviews are part of the trade law enforcement process to address the dumping and subsidization of Canadian imports for a certain time period, and the U.S. Lumber Coalition fully supports this annual process.

Every Administration since the Reagan Administration has investigated Canadian lumber trade and reached the same conclusion – import duties are warranted because Canadian lumber producers are subsidized and unfairly trade in the U.S. market to the detriment of U.S. companies and workers. U.S. trade laws duties simply offset Canada’s unfair trade practices, allowing U.S. lumber manufacturers to grow to their natural size.

“Trade law enforcement has resulted in dramatic growth of U.S. made lumber by mitigating the harmful effects of Canada’s subsidized and unfairly traded imports,” stated Jason Brochu, U.S. Lumber Coalition Chairman and Co-President of Pleasant River Lumber Company. “The enforcement will maximize long- term domestic production and lumber availability to meet strong demand to build more American homes,” added Brochu.

Since the filing of the trade cases by the U.S. industry in 2016, U.S. sawmill investment and capacity expansion has been robust. The U.S. industry appears on track to have produced an additional 17.5 billion board feet of lumber through 2021, averaging 3.5 billion a year. These increases have more than offset any decline in unfairly traded Canadian imports and are enough lumber to build about 1.2 million single-family American homes.

The U.S. industry remains open to a new U.S.–Canada softwood lumber trade agreement if and when Canada can demonstrate that it is serious about negotiations for an agreement that addresses Canada’s unfair trade practices which are harming U.S. producers, workers, and timberland holders. Until then, the U.S. Lumber Coalition fully supports the continued strong enforcement of the U.S. trade laws to address Canada’s unfair softwood lumber trade practices.

About the U.S. Lumber Coalition

The U.S. Lumber Coalition is an alliance of large and small softwood lumber producers from around the country, joined by their employees, and woodland owners, working to address Canada’s unfair lumber trade practices. Our goal is to serve as the voice of the American lumber community, and effectively address Canada’s unfair softwood lumber trade practices, including its gross underpricing of timber. For more information, please visit the Coalition’s website at www.uslumbercoalition.org.

Contact:

Zoltan van Heyningen – Media Contact – zoltan@uslumbercoalition.org – (202) 805-9133

Source: U.S. Lumber Coalition