Trade watchers say they are shocked at the latest tactic being used by the US to shore up its tariff wall against Canada after a legal setback last month. US Trade Representative (USTR) launched investigations into 60 economies under Section 301(b) of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974 to determine whether they have failed to impose or enforce bans on imports produced with forced labour. But critics in the Washington beltway say the 301 probes are basically a “show trial” and that the verdict is sure to go against trading partners such as Canada. Canada is being grouped together with China and dozens of other countries for these investigations. The probes will examine whether Ottawa’s forced-labour rules and framework… are sufficient for screening goods produced by child or forced labour. …“This has nothing to do with forced labour,” said Inu Manak, at the Council on Foreign Relations. …He thinks the administration is constructing a pretext to defend the tariffs it’s already planning.
Trade talks with Canada ahead of the mandatory review of the continental trade pact are lagging behind those with Mexico, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday. …“We’re having talks separately with Canada, but we’ve moved along with Mexico,” Greer said. “Canada is behind on this.” Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc met with Greer on March 6, days after the Trump administration announced it was officially beginning negotiations with Mexico. The meeting was seen by some as a sign of a thaw in Canada-US relations. …But no announcement of formal negotiations with Canada has emerged from the Trump administration since that meeting took place. …Greer has complained that Canadians maintain barriers that make it difficult to hold bilateral trade talks, citing provincial bans on US alcohol. …Greer also has floated the idea of abandoning the trade pact in favour of two separate bilateral agreements with America’s closest neighbours.
While Canada’s economy is far more reliant on exports to the US than vice versa, Canadian negotiators have crucial ammunition in their efforts to land a trade deal that reduces or eliminates tariffs imposed by US President Trump. …Canada’s attempts to negotiate relief from Trump’s tariffs on such exports as steel, aluminum, automobiles and softwood lumber are now wrapped into fresh talks on renewing the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). …Barry Appleton, says Canada needs to shift its strategy by exerting its leverage as a crucial U.S. customer. …Inu Manak, says the US needs Canadian natural resources to achieve the industrial policy goals set out by the US administration. …Canada is among the top sources of foreign direct investment in the U.S., largely as a result of decisions by pension funds. …The US has repeatedly emphasized the importance of steady access to a reliable supply of critical minerals.
USW members voted overwhelmingly this winter to ratify a new four-year master agreement that provides significant annual wage increases and additional benefits for about 2,400 members of nine local unions at Domtar paper facilities across the United States. The contract, which runs through December 2029, followed months of member preparations and bargaining during a period of major changes in the company and across the paper industry. It was the first time USW members bargained a new agreement since Paper Excellence acquired Domtar in 2021 and then Resolute in 2023. …“With new ownership and leadership at the table, we knew this round of bargaining would be challenging,” said International Vice President Luis Mendoza, who oversees the union’s paper sector. …The agreement… included a signing bonus, a boost in pension payments, wage increases of more than 12% over the life of the contract, and continued affordable health care coverage.
If you want to understand why the American starter home seems to have gone extinct, don’t look at greedy developers, rapacious investors or discriminating banks. Look at the government policies that make building these homes all but impossible. New research puts hard numbers on one part of the problem — and they’re staggering. …Federal, state and local governments have accelerated this decline by increasing construction costs through several channels. …In some cities, such as Los Angeles, the time it takes to get building permits amounts to almost half the construction time. …Land in many localities is made artificially expensive by regulations that dictate home sizes, yard sizes, building setbacks, parking and more. …Federal policies pile on more costs. …Canadian lumber, for example, is roughly 80% of all US imports and is currently subject to “trade remedy” taxes of more than 25%. Similar duties cover a wide range of products that US homebuilders use every day.
KINGSPORT — Domtar’s Kingsport mill told the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation that it will try a method to improve wastewater quality at its wastewater lagoon this week. The mill said it will add an oxidant near the outlet of the lagoon’s settling zone for about 30 days to see if it would improve the effluent water quality. “It will be fed at a low rate of approximately 1 [part per million] with monitoring and testing being done at our effluent sample point before the discharge to the river,” the letter states. The mill has also tried chemical treatments and injecting liquid oxygen to address sulfuric odors attributed to the 25-acre wastewater lagoon.It is currently constructing a new wastewater treatment system, an anaerobic digester, to address wastewater odors attributed to the mill. Construction is expected to complete near the end of 2026.
METCALFE, Georgia — Plantation Pine Products officially opened their doors at the former site of Hood Industries, signaling an exciting new chapter in a timber mill with a storied history. …The $25 million investment is set to provide 100 jobs, with the first mill employees reporting for duty in July, when it will once again come alive. Operated by Steve Conner, Plantation Pine Products will be one of the many “bread and butter businesses” of Thomasville. …“Forestry is woven into the fabric of rural Georgia in a way that no other industry can match,” Michelle Shaw said for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. …The reopening of the mill comes at a crucial time following the devastation of Hurricane Helene in 2025 and reinforces the resiliency of timber producers across Georgia.
Mercer posted Q4 earnings per share (EPS) of -$4.61 against a consensus estimate of -$0.83, a miss that signals the commodity cycle has gone from painful to existential. The headline driver was a $238.7 million non-cash impairment charge, including a $203.5 million write-down on its Peace River hardwood pulp mill. …International Paper’s Q3 2025 losses look alarming on the surface, with a $1.01 billion impairment on its Global Cellulose Fibers business and $675 million in accelerated depreciation from mill closures. But adjusted EBITDA came in at $859 million, up 28% sequentially. IP is taking pain by choice. Mercer is absorbing pain it cannot control. …IP’s pivot to pure-play global packaging via DS Smith gives it pricing leverage and diversified end markets. Mercer’s mass timber order book, at roughly $163 million in contracts including data center projects, is a genuine bright spot, but it cannot offset a pulp business bleeding cash.
Lumber futures climbed past $600 per thousand board feet as stabilizing housing sentiment and tightening production capacity across North America reversed a two month downward trend. The NAHB Housing Market Index edged up to 38 in March with buyer traffic and future sales expectations showing marginal gains despite persistent economic uncertainty. While 37% of builders continue to offer price cuts to attract buyers the market is finding support from a 29.1% surge in multifamily housing starts and a 7.2% rise in total residential construction activity. On the supply side mill closures and elevated duties on Canadian imports are projected to remove over 1.3 billion board feet from the market this year. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East further pressure the outlook as rising energy costs inflate transport and shipping expenses for global timber. These factors suggest a shift toward a supply constrained environment that offsets the impact of high mortgage rates.
Lumber increased to 602.00 USD/1000 board feet, the highest since February 2026. Over the past 4 weeks, Lumber gained 1.1%, and in the last 12 months, it decreased 9.51%.
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve officials, convening in a wartime setting that began less than three weeks ago, are expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday even as a fresh jump in oil prices and data showing a rise in some aspects of inflation even before the start of the war with Iran may prompt them to recast the outlook for the U.S. economy, inflation and monetary policy. New projections to be released by the U.S. central bank at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) will show how policymakers assess the economic impact of President Donald Trump’s decision to launch an open-ended conflict in the Middle East, but the environment remained volatile even as they began the second day of their latest two-day policy meeting. …US producer prices rose in February by 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Rising producer prices can feed into retail costs and signal higher future inflation.
COLORADO — The Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) unanimously voted to table its decision on adopting eight new building-related codes. Those are the 2024 editions of international codes, including the residential code, building code, energy and conservation code, mechanical code, fuel and gas code, existing building code, property maintenance code, and the swimming pool and spa code. During the meeting, the BoCC also considered, and unanimously approved, Resolution 2026-27, adopting the 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code (CWRC), along with amendments to snow load requirements for manufactured structures. …Commissioner John Ranson described them as an “unfunded mandate,” adding, “there’s no two-ways about it.” He mentioned that in conversations with local builders, many are preparing for these codes to make construction costs go up.
OLYMPIA, WA — A new Washington state law aimed at expanding affordable housing options will make it easier to build small “kit homes” and backyard units across the state. Gov. Bob Ferguson signed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5552 into law, following four years of work by Sen. Jeff Wilson. The measure directs the Washington State Building Code Council to develop rules specifically for kit homes under 800 square feet. Supporters say the legislation is intended to help address Washington’s housing shortage by reducing costs and simplifying the construction process for smaller homes. Wilson said standardized kit-home designs could allow plans to be approved once at the state level rather than requiring separate design reviews for each project. Kit homes typically include precut lumber delivered as a package that can be assembled on site. Modern versions often use prefabricated wall and roof panels to speed construction, and start at less than $10,000.
Vermonters are weighing the impacts of a federal bill — the 
You have until Monday to provide input on the Trump administration’s plan to dramatically increase logging in western Oregon forests. Last month, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management 
Three organizations and an individual are suing the Gardiner District of the Custer Gallatin National Forest — for a plan they say hurts the already-endangered whitebark pine tree while ignoring lynx and grizzly habitat, and relying on unproven studies. The groups say the federal government is ignoring its rules and seems to be disregarding its own maps of protected lynx area in an effort to preserve the rare whitebark pine trees, despite admitting in its own documents that the efforts to preserve the trees could actually harm them. The lawsuit … centers on logging north of Yellowstone National Park. A technique, called “daylight thinning,” which involves removing trees near a whitebark pine, is not backed by scientific research according to the court documents, and the organizations point out that the Forest Service admits that in the process of thinning, it could actually wind up killing some of the whitebark pine trees. 
This week, we have yet another reminder that Idaho can’t possibly afford to take over or manage federal lands. A forthcoming study, which will be published Friday, provides the most recent reliable estimates of exactly how much Idaho would lose if it were to take over federal lands. The study, which was commissioned by Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Idaho Business for the Outdoors, the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association, and the Idaho Wildlife Federation, was performed by Peterson and Associates, which has long been a go-to source for economic analysis of this type in Idaho. While the full results won’t be released until Friday, the top-line figures are stark. Idaho would lose $837.7 million directly, in the form of spending by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies, as well as Payment in Lieu of Taxes and Secure Rural Schools payments. That’s nearly 16% of Idaho’s general fund budget.
A federal judge in Alaska 
OREGON — 
From the moment he became BC’s forests minister, Ravi Parmar has been under pressure to increase logging rates in the province. One way he has decided to do that is by expediting the logging of forests burned in recent wildfires. He issued the Fort Nelson First Nation a new licence to log 100,000 cubic metres of trees in burned forests in BC’s remote northeast corner. …A number of industry associations, including the Council of Forest Industries, asked him to set “definitive, aggressive timelines for completion” of plans to accelerate logging in burned forests. …But increasing “wildfire salvage” of forests, Parmar is travelling down the same road that has seen BC’s logging rates plummet by more than half since the heyday of the 1980s. …Accelerated logging of burned trees may help bend the curve, but history shows that it is short-lived and comes at the cost of degraded ecosystems and even sharper declines ahead.
Montana and the U.S. Forest Service announced last week they were moving ahead on a shared agreement between the two to do forestry work in large swathes of the state. Last summer, the state and Forest Service signed an agreement formalizing closer cooperation between federal forest management operations and the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. That came about two months after a Trump Administration executive order seeking to increase domestic timber production. On Friday, Gov. Greg Gianforte, DNRC Director Amanda Kaster and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said that two large areas have been selected for state and federal work. The focus of the work will be on approximately 213,910 acres in the Flathead and Kootenai National Forests and 200,000 acres within the Bitterroot National Forest. The project areas were selected due to wildfire risk and how close they are to being implemented.
Years after logging at his Mariaville woodlot, Bob Seymour expected to see new hardwood trees growing in the understory. In fact, he took it as a given after decades in the Maine woods that natural regrowth would crop up. Instead, almost all of the young trees in some sections are eastern white pines he had planted. He believes that’s largely because deer populations are growing and eating more hardwood saplings, which means fewer trees and less diversity in the future. …It’s one of the most concerning changes that Seymour, a retired UMaine silviculture professor, has seen in almost five decades of experience researching forest management. …Such challenges to understanding and managing the Maine woods have grown in recent years amid climate change, which has brought destructive new pests, fast-moving diseases, invasive plants that take over, and warmer winters that change growing, harvesting and wildlife conditions.
WASHINGTON — The Carbon Business Council announced the launch of the Direct Storage of Biomass (DSB) Coalition, a new industry working group bringing together leading companies to advance understanding, credibility, and responsible deployment of direct biomass storage as a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) pathway. Direct storage of biomass, also referred to as terrestrial storage of biomass, involves durably storing organic material such as waste wood from forests, agricultural residues like corn stover, biochar, or other plant and biological matter. Storing these organic residues allow the carbon previously absorbed by the biomass to be durably locked out of the active carbon cycle. The biomass can be safely buried, stored deep underground in sealed reservoirs, wells or other containers. DSB can deliver durable atmospheric carbon removal while leveraging existing forestry, agricultural, and biomass-handling infrastructure. …The DSB Coalition is part of the Carbon Business Council’s broader initiative to scale carbon removal across air, land, rock, and water. 
President Trump has invited farmers and biofuels producers to the White House for a big event next week as the industry awaits the government’s announcement on mandates for the fuel additives. The “celebration of agriculture” event is scheduled for March 27. The invitation said: “Later this month, following National Agriculture Week, President Trump plans to host hundreds of farmers and ranchers from around the country on the South Lawn to shine a spotlight on the men and women growing our food, fiber, and fuel.” The US Environmental Protection Agency’s decision on biofuels is expected around the end of March. The renewable volume obligations, or RVOs, mandate how much biofuel, such as corn-based ethanol and biodiesel, must be blended into the nation’s fuel supply. Next week’s meeting could have an impact on the markets amid speculation on the RVO decision coming later this month.