The US Department of Commerce today announced the final anti-dumping duty rate of 20.56% in the sixth annual antidumping review of unfairly traded Canadian softwood lumber imports into the United States. The review covers lumber imported in calendar year 2023. If the Department’s forthcoming determination in the countervailing duty review is consistent with the preliminary results, the combined rate will be well over 30%.
Council of Forest Industries (COFI):
COFI strongly condemns today’s decision by the US Department of Commerce to once again increase anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber. These unjustified and punitive trade actions continue to harm workers, families, and communities across British Columbia and Canada—and have gone unresolved for far too long. We call on the Government of Canada to make resolution of the softwood lumber dispute a top national priority. But this latest escalation also underscores a hard truth: we cannot wait for the US to act. To keep forestry workers employed and communities strong, BC must urgently strengthen the conditions to succeed here at home. That starts with treating forestry as a major project to reach a target harvest of 45 million cubic metres and taking immediate action to restore wood flow, protect jobs, and stabilize the sector—while laying the groundwork for long-term competitiveness.
US Lumber Coalition:
The US Lumber Coalition applauds Trump Administration’s strong enforcement of the US trade Laws against egregious levels of unfair trade by Canada in softwood lumber. “20.56% – that is the enormous extent to which Canadian producers dumped their lumber in the US market. …Andrew Miller, Chairman of the Coalition said., “The Commerce Department has once again proven the severity of market disruption caused by Canada’s unfair trading. Time has come for Canada to reconcile the size of its industry with market realities. The United States will no longer absorb Canada’s massive excess capacity in lumber at the expense of US mills and communities.” …US lumber industry and workers letter to President Trump. Enforcing U.S. trade laws helps increase the U.S. supply of lumber to build American homes, all without impacting the cost of a new home, as demonstrated by data from the NAHB and Fastmarkets Random Lengths.
BC Lumber Trade Council (BCLTC):
The BCLTC is deeply disappointed by today’s final determination by the US Department of Commerce to raise anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber to 20.56%. This decision represents yet another example of ongoing US protectionism at a time when cross-border cooperation should be a shared priority. “These duties are both unjustified and harmful,” said Kurt Niquidet, President of the BC Lumber Trade Council. “They unfairly penalize forestry workers and families across British Columbia, while further increasing costs for American homebuilders and consumers. Niquidet emphasized the need for a lasting resolution: “Rather than prolonging this decades-old dispute through costly litigation, we urge both governments to pursue a fair and durable agreement that delivers long-term certainty in the softwood lumber trade.”