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U.S. Lumber Coalition supports continued enforcement of softwood lumber duties

As the U.S. Department of Commerce issued its final determination in the third annual review of softwood lumber imports from Canada today, the U.S. Lumber Coalition issued a statement saying the total duty rate of 8.59 per cent “confirms yet again that Canadian lumber imports are unfairly traded” into the U.S. market.

“The trade laws duties announced today by the Commerce Department will help offset Canada’s unfair trade practices,” said Andrew Miller, chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition and CEO of Stimson Lumber. “The benefit of the trade cases against Canada are clear,” added Miller. “Trade law enforcement boosts American manufacturing and results in more U.S. lumber being produced by U.S. workers to build U.S. homes.”

The association said U.S. sawmills have invested heavily to expand capacity since the trade cases were filed in 2016. The domestic industry has produced an additional 15 billion board feet of lumber through 2021, averaging 3 billion a year of additional output – enough lumber to build over 1 million single-family homes.

The U.S. Lumber Coalition said it supports the continued enforcement of the U.S. trade laws to strengthen domestic supply chains by allowing American companies to invest and increase the overall supply of made-in-America lumber and will continue to aggressively pursue the enforcement of the trade laws.

“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,” the statement concluded.

Read the full statement: U.S. Lumber Coalition news release.