WASHINGTON — The NAFTA Secretariat has published formal notice of an October 5, 2026, binational panel decision concerning countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber products. The panel affirmed the US Department of Commerce’s Second Redetermination on Remand in the matter of Certain Softwood Lumber Products from Canada: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination. The decision relates to a challenge filed under NAFTA’s Article 1904 dispute settlement mechanism, which provides for binational panel review of trade remedy determinations.
Editor’s Note: The decision was previously reported by Tree Frog News on October 7, following a release by the US Lumber Coalition. The Federal Register notice formally publishes that decision; it does not announce a new ruling.
CALGARY — Canada’s lumber and steel industries are warning that expanding overseas sales cannot make up for losing access to the American market as tariffs threaten mills, jobs and manufacturing output. Industry representatives told the Senate national finance committee that Canada faces significant limits in shifting exports to other countries, Blacklock’s Reporter reported. Derek Nighbor, CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada, said Canadian lumber and wood products sales to the US total about $14 billion annually. “It’s not a matter of just putting sticks on a boat and sending them somewhere else,” Nighbor testified. While producers see potential in Japan, China, South Korea and the European Union, Nighbor cautioned those markets cannot absorb enough Canadian products to replace American demand. … Further growth requires work on building codes, relationships with governments and local businesses, and training builders to use Canadian wood products.
BRUSSELS — The EU and Canada will use a landmark summit next month to announce an expansive new partnership, ranging from breaking down digital trade barriers to joint support for Ukraine and investing in fighting wildfires. “The world is rapidly changing with unprecedented geopolitical challenges as well as challenges across trade, energy, technology, climate, and resources,” reads a joint statement. …The EU and Canada have been seeking to shore up their strategic ties as they grapple with the fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war. …The two sides plan to say at their summit in Montreal that they want to speed up investment in critical mineral projects, strengthen supply chains, and improve supply security, including by stockpiling critical resources to mitigate “market fluctuations and geopolitical impacts.” …Ottawa and Brussels will also announce the joint purchase of 50 De Havilland water bombers, to be ready for use in Canada and Europe in 2030 to fight wildfires.
Plaintiffs led by the Canadian government will appeal the Court of International Trade’s July 27 ruling that upheld the Commerce Department’s use of a differential pricing analysis to detect masked dumping in a case challenging the 2021 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on Canadian softwood lumber, according to a Sept. 23 
President Trump’s ban on nearly $1 billion worth of Canadian goods went into effect Tuesday, marking the latest salvo in a trade war between the U.S. and its longtime ally to the north. The restrictions include Canadian dairy products, motor vehicles and many alcoholic beverages. Trump, in signing the executive orders to ban the goods, cited Canadian “discrimination” against the American equivalents. Jacob Jensen, as the American Action Forum, said the limits cover $967 million worth of Canadian imports, based on 2025 data. The president last month slapped 50 percent tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of Canadian products, levies that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government matched “dollar for dollar. …Carney, meanwhile, has used the trade dispute with Trump to shift his country’s cooperative focus elsewhere. 
In an early loss for the Carney government, a federal court refused to strike down a climate lawsuit brought by Canadian youth. Justice Patrick Gleeson sided with the young people and the environmental advocates who are asking the court to hear what could be a landmark case on the federal government’s climate accountability legislation. The ruling means the environmentalists will likely get their day in court where both they and the government will get an opportunity to argue whether the Carney government must update its climate plan, formally known as the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. Back in June, three young people and two environmental groups launched a lawsuit asking the Federal Court to order Ottawa to amend its climate plan. Since the plan was first launched in 2022, the Liberal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney has eliminated key measures needed for Canada to achieve the 2030 target. 
A new manufacturing operation coming to Chemainus is expected to create 30 jobs by early 2027, with plans to grow to 70 positions over the next three years. Japan-based Shinohara Nexus Group will open a production facility on a portion of the Chemainus sawmill site, leased from Western Forest Products. North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas said he met with Shinohara Group’s senior management team, including the company’s president and CEO, to discuss the project. The investment was also discussed with North Cowichan council members by B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar during the Union of BC Municipalities convention. According to Douglas, the operation will be housed in two existing storage buildings at the site. Western Forest Products has told the United Steelworkers the new operation will not impact the Chemainus sawmill’s ability to restart. Shinohara has operated manufacturing facilities producing pre-cut lumber for approximately 4,000 residential, commercial and institutional buildings each year.
David Eby initially framed this election as being about who’s the best choice to fight the threat posed by Donald Trump. …Pshaw, Eby’s critics say. …Whether Eby is using Trump as a strawman, and whether the New Democrats are the ones to counter the president and his tariffs, is up for debate. What’s not in dispute, though, is those tariffs hit the forest sector hard. In the outer reaches of ridings like North Island and Mid Island-Pacific Rim — places more wild and rugged than tamed, uncalloused Victoria — they’ll tell you the tariffs are just one more challenge to an already struggling industry. People in forestry also fret about access to fibre, the depletion of valuable Douglas fir, wildfires, regulatory burden, transportation costs and, yes, cross-border wrangling. …Eby said B.C. would fight tariffs by adding $90 million to existing government programs to attract investment and jobs to rural areas.
The Supreme Court of Canada is set to hear an appeal involving CN Rail and Alberta Pacific Forest Industries that could clarify the courts’ authority to review decisions of the Canadian Transportation Agency. The case centres on whether factual findings by the agency can be challenged through judicial review, despite statutory limits on appeals.
The announcement that BC’s Howe Sound pulp and paper operation will remain open after securing government support has reignited questions about whether a similar intervention could have been pursued for Canfor’s Northwood pulp mill in Prince George. Domtar’s future has changed dramatically following discussions involving government officials, the company and union representatives. According to Unifor’s Gavin McGarrigle, government assistance played a critical role. …For critics of the provincial government’s response to the Northwood closure, the contrasting outcomes raise difficult questions. …McGarrigle argues the key difference lies in the willingness of the parties involved to engage. …Canfor disputes the notion that support for Northwood was not pursued. …“Canfor has been advocating for years to address the critical shortfall of economic fibre needed to sustain our manufacturing facilities. …With respect to our pulp operations in the region, we are intensely focused on ensuring a strong future for Intercon and Specialty Paper operations in Prince George.
The British Columbia Supreme Court has refused to approve a proposed reverse vesting transaction (RVO) for Teal-Jones Group that would have wiped out long-standing fibre supply agreements tied to TFL 46, finding that TimberWest and Domtar held proprietary interests that should not be extinguished. The Monitor argued that the sale of the Surrey Mill and TFL 46 to Gillfor Manufacturing was the best available transaction and that removing the agreements was necessary to preserve the business, but the Court found no sufficient evidence that the agreements were uneconomic or would prevent Gillfor from operating the assets. With the agreements priced at fair market value and their termination expected to cause significant prejudice to TimberWest and Domtar, the Court declined to approve the transaction unless they remained in place. …The prejudice to Domtar if the supply agreements were extinguished would be significant. 
CLINTON, Ontario
The US hardwood industry is still working through a deep capacity contraction. At the 2026 National Hardwood Lumber Association convention, Hardwood Review said it had identified 151 publicly announced sawmill and yard closures since the start of 2023, while other presentations highlighted a larger role for log exports and NHLA’s longer-term efforts to develop new structural and value-added markets for hardwoods. Highlights include:
President Trump’s near-global tariff policy is being challenged in federal court — again. A panel of three judges at the US Court of International Trade heard arguments from a group of small businesses and Democratic-led states who say Trump’s sweeping “Section 301” tariffs overstep the law. It’s the third time in less than two years that the courts have been asked to intervene against the president’s attempt to impose sweeping tariffs on the vast majority of U.S. imports. The latest tariffs put 10% or 12.5% rates on goods from 86 countries, covering 99.4% of US imports. The Trump administration said they were imposed in response to the targeted countries failing to effectively enforce bans on the trade of goods produced using forced labor practices. But an attorney for the challengers said at the start of Wednesday’s hearing that a “constellation of factors” show the government’s justification was a “pretext” in pursuit of reviving Trump’s worldwide tariff regime.
Imported hardwood timber and lumber could be the next wood products to face a US national security tariff, with the Commerce Department’s one-year deadline to report back to the White House on those imports running out at the end of today in Washington. That is according to the proclamation President Donald Trump signed a year ago this week, which requested the update so he could decide whether the phased import duty that Commerce recommended in July last year is warranted. “By October 1, 2026, the Secretary shall provide the President with an update on imports of hardwood timber and lumber, their markets, and the domestic industry,” the proclamation instructs.” …Trump put off the planned increases to 30 and 50 per cent by a year at the end of last year, with the amended proclamation citing “productive negotiations of agreements with multiple countries” on wood products.
The US and China reached new trade and investment arrangements during President Xi Jinping’s September 2026 state visit to Washington, including the relaxation of tariffs affecting lumber and other wood products exported from the US to China. …According to a September 25, 2026 
The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service published a final rule in the 
US Customs and Border Protection agents spent four days investigating Auckland timber processor Hermpac after a complaint from the US Lumber Coalition. The finding was uncomfortable. A wholesaler on America’s east coast had been routing Canadian-origin wood through New Zealand for processing before shipping it into the US. …The purpose, according to the investigation, was to dodge the punishing duties the US imposes on Canadian softwood lumber. This is the first confirmed case of a New Zealand processor being directly investigated by US Customs in connection with the Trump-era tariff regime. …The fight is no longer just about headline rates. It is now about who inspects your paperwork, and whether the value you add in New Zealand counts. …The practical takeaway is unglamorous but urgent. Review and document your origin classifications now, before a competitor files a complaint, not after Customs agents turn up.
Walmart has settled its case over more than US$80 million in claims against Structurlam, the Canadian mass timber manufacturer it hired to supply its new head office. That is according to the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, which approved the settlement with the trust representing Structurlam’s creditors in July and closed the case in August. … According to the trust, Walmart first brought forward deadlines for one building in July 2022, then redesigned six of the eight main buildings a month later. The trust said Walmart also stopped paying for accepted timber and refused further deliveries over a glulam fault … The retailer ended the contract in January 2023, saying Structurlam had failed to deliver fully and on time and had not fixed the problems within the time allowed. … No objections to the settlement were lodged before the court approved it.
Washington, D.C. — A steep decline in hardwood exports, the growing popularity of man-made wood alternatives and surging fuel prices have been battering the American hardwood lumber industry. In Kentucky, 78 wood industry facilities, mostly sawmills, have closed in the last four years, according to the University of Kentucky Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. The U.S. relationship with China has been a major source of the industry’s problems and a focus of proposals to address them. China once bought about half of U.S. hardwood exports, according to the Hardwood Federation. Then, eight years ago, President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on imports from China, and China retaliated with tariffs on hardwood and other American imports. The reciprocal tariffs were eventually rolled back, but China’s purchases of American hardwood never returned to their previous levels. …advocates are pushing for lawmakers to pass legislation for $12 billion in agriculture relief, including $200 million for the hardwood industry.
The United States and the state of North Carolina have filed a 
ROSENTHAL, Germany —During the restart process following a four-week maintenance shutdown, the plant received a report on October 1, 2026, regarding discoloration in the vicinity of the wastewater discharge point. As a precautionary measure to rule out any adverse effects on the environment and water bodies, the company immediately halted the restart process and the wastewater discharge, retaining the wastewater in the plant’s own buffer basins. The Saale-Orla District Office subsequently issued a temporary swimming ban for the southern section of the Bleiloch Reservoir as a precaution. Since the wastewater discharge was suspended on Thursday, the company has been in constant direct communication with the relevant authorities. On this basis, discharge from the plant’s own wastewater treatment facility into the Saale River was gradually resumed on October 3 in close coordination with the relevant environmental authorities. At the same time, preparations are underway to resume pulp production. [END]
