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BC Lumber Trade Council: US Department of Commerce preliminary rate decision ‘egregious’

Susan Yurkovich, president of the B.C. Lumber Trade Council, made the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (DOC) issuance of preliminary countervailing (CVD) and antidumping (AD) rates on Canadian softwood lumber. The preliminary combined “All Others” rate has been set at 18.32 per cent, more than double the current combined “All Others” rate of 8.99 per cent. Today’s decision is the outcome of the DOC’s second Administrative Review of its investigation into softwood lumber products from Canada. The rates are only preliminary and will not come into effect until a final rate is issue later this year.

“We find the significant increase in today’s preliminary rates troubling. It is particularly egregious given lumber prices are at a record high and demand is skyrocketing in the U.S. as families across the country look to repair, remodel and build new homes. As U.S. producers remain unable to meet domestic demand, the ongoing actions of the industry, resulting in these unwarranted tariffs, will ultimately further hurt American consumers by adding to their costs.

If Commerce persists with its methodology and finalizes these rates at the end of this year, U.S. lumber consumers will bear the burden of further increased lumber costs. Our strong hope is that the U.S. industry will end this decades-long litigation and instead work with us to meet demand for the low-carbon wood products the world wants, including American families. Until then, we will continue to vigorously defend our industry against these meritless allegations.

As we have consistently said, and as has been proven time and time again in previous rounds of litigation, the Canadian lumber industry is not subsidized and continuous claims by U.S. producers are completely baseless.”

B.C. is the largest Canadian exporter of softwood lumber to the U.S. The B.C. forest industry is a major contributor to the provincial economy and supports approximately 100,000 direct and indirect jobs in the province. The B.C. Lumber Trade Council is the voice on trade matters for companies in B.C. representing the majority of lumber production in the province.