VANCOUVER — David Eby appears to be ready to put B.C. on a trade war footing in response to American tariff threats, with an arsenal that includes supporting federal taxes and bans on exports, like critical minerals, and bolstering B.C.’s energy and resource sector to make it more competitive by accelerating permitting for energy and resource projects, and reforming government programs like BC Timber Sales. No industry in Canada understands the negative impact of American duties and tariffs better than the B.C. forestry sector, which has been labouring under American duties on softwood lumber for nearly a decade now. Eby said he would encourage the Canadian government to respond to the tariffs with taxes and bans on key exports.

B.C. forestry companies already pay an average of 14.4% in duties on lumber exports to the U.S., and they could double next year. It’s unclear whether the 25 per cent tariffs Trump has threatened would be additive to existing duties. …Forestry companies in B.C. face an even stiffer tariff of sorts right here at home, in the form of regulatory burdens, including policies that have restricted access to timber, and stumpage charges that can make the available timber uneconomic to cut. …He suggested some relief may be on the way for resource industries in B.C. …One key reform will be to BC Timber Sales. Eby has struck a new task force with the mandate of overhauling it.

BC Timber Sales accounts for about 20% of the timber harvested from Crown lands, and uses auctioning to establish market pricing in order to set the rates (stumpage) charged to forestry companies to harvest timber on Crown lands. Forestry companies have complained that the rates are often too high, not responsive enough to lumber price swings, and can make it uneconomic to harvest timber, even when it is available for harvest. …“The elaborate process that we go through with B.C. Timber Sales in order to appease the Americans on softwood lumber duties has absolutely not done that,” he said. “The tariffs continue, the tariffs. …“Obviously, now, in the context of 25% across-the-board tariffs – we are in a trade war with the United States – that anxiety goes away.”