Trump imposes tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. Governments, industry, economists and pundits respond [there are multiple stories behind each link below]:
- Trump Imposes Tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China
- Canada announces $155B tariff package in response to US tariffs
- Canadian Forest Industry, Steelworkers respond to tariffs
- Provincial and state leaders respond to Trump’s tariffs
- Economists weigh in: the dumbest trade war fallout begins
- Opinion: alienating allies means that “America First” will be “America Alone.”
- European Union leaders vow to fight back if Trump imposes tariffs
In other news: world stock markets open lower; lumber futures surge to two-month high; homebuilding costs are expected to jump; and the US Lumber Coalition rebuts Canada’s offensive. Meanwhile: the US Forest Service scrubbed climate change from its website; two US senators introduced an Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act; a wildfire scientist pushed back on the Fix our Forests Act; and Tom Fletcher opines on BC’s proposed-but-withdrawn Land Act changes.
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Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
President Trump conceded Sunday that there may be “some pain” from his sweeping tariffs on Mexico and Canada, but they will eventually lead to a new “GOLDEN AGE.” Nice of him to promise a glorious future because the pain is already unfolding. …He also included a blast at these columns for leading the “Tariff Lobby” after our editorial called his 25% across-the-board tariffs on our friends and neighbors “
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Lumber futures surged to over $590 per thousand board feet, approaching the two-month high of $600 from January 6th following US President Trump’s decision to implement tariffs on Canada, a major supplier of wood to the US. The tariffs were threatened by the US President shortly after taking office, but conflicting messages from the Presidential administration raised skepticism for investors on whether trade barriers would actually be raised. According to the latest data, Canada supplied around 30% of lumber used in the US last year. The 25% tax on Canadian goods, including wood, add to the already existing anti-dumping duties of 14.5%, raising capacity pressures on domestically produced alternatives. In the meantime, the greater degree of confidence that the Fed will deliver more than one rate cut this year drove benchmark mortgage rates to ease below 7%, giving some respite to construction demand. [END]
Framing lumber markets hovered in a holding pattern as traders embraced a wait-and-see approach to a potential 25% tariff on Canadian shipments. The Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price finished the week $1 lower. Western S-P-F buyers moved to the sidelines in late trading, citing minimal immediate needs and uncertainty about the tariffs and near-term prospects. …Price weakness lingered in the Southern Pine market amid sluggish to stagnant sales. Buyers lacked urgency and the potential impact of tariffs on demand for SYP was a widespread topic of conversation. …Traders debated how much of a price spread between Western S-P-F and SYP would need to emerge before end users substituted species on a larger scale. …In Coast markets, Hem-Fir dimension continued to face serious downward pressure from soft Inland prices. Meanwhile, dry Douglas Fir dimension prices stabilized, assisted by a green market that has found its footing.
The stock market fell on Monday after President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, eliciting threats of retaliation and setting the stage for a trade war. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid about 550 points, or 1.25%, in early trading on Monday. The S&P 500 dropped 1.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq plummeted 2%. Traders demonstrated their jitters with a selloff of U.S. auto companies, which hold deep ties to suppliers in Canada and Mexico. Shares of General Motors plummeted 6%, while Ford saw its stock price plunge 4%. The market rout extended worldwide. Japan’s Nikkei index fell 2.5% on Monday, and the pan-European STOXX 600 dropped about 1%.
One of the biggest policy changes needed in B.C. is to forestry policy. B.C. policy for the last 50 years has resulted in a rapid clear-cutting of a large part of our forests even as all the research indicates that: Within a 60-80 year time span, only 20-30 per cent of forests can be cut in any one area without harming the hydrological cycle. On this basis, most BC commercial forests have been severely over-cut making a mockery of the Annual Allowable Cut. …Clear-cutting results in increased risk of forest fires up to 30 years when replanted. …Re-planting is a form of green-washing giving companies cover for the forest damage they do. …Due to the increase in forest fires partially due to logging, BC forests have [become a] carbon source. …The Power of Forests: Protecting Communities and Nature with a New Forest Act effort was launched by the 
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) introduced the bipartisan Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act of 2025 to strengthen the aerial wildfire suppression fleet and better combat the year-round threat of catastrophic wildfire. “I have worked to expand the operations of Very Large Air Tankers that have proven absolutely essential to firefighters battling wildfires in New Mexico, Los Angeles, and across the West,” said Heinrich. …“As a former Navy SEAL and the only aerial firefighter in the Senate, I understand government’s most solemn duty is to keep the American people safe,” said Sheehy. The bill reauthorizes the Secretary of Defense’s authority to sell excess Department of Defense aircraft and aircraft parts, acceptable for commercial sale, to persons or entities that contract with the government for the delivery of fire retardant or water by air to suppress wildfires…
