Tax total for Canadian softwood lumber exports set at almost 35% after U.S. review

Tax total for Canadian softwood lumber exports set at almost 35% after U.S. review

B.C. Lumber Trade Council says new figure is down from the combined rate of 45%

The B.C. Lumber Trade Council says Canadian softwood lumber now faces total import taxes of almost 35 per cent after the latest review from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The organization representing B.C. lumber producers says the new figure is down from the combined rate of 45 per cent announced in August last year.

But Kim Haakstad, the council's interim president, says its members are disappointed that Canadian lumber producers still face unjustified and punitive trade measures.

She says in a statement that the combined weight of duties and tariffs remains a significant burden on producers.

The statement says the softwood lumber dispute has dragged on for nearly a decade, putting pressure on forest-dependent communities.

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The council says the U.S. Department of Commerce has imposed countervailing duties at 14.11 per cent, an anti-dumping rate of 10.64 per cent, and the additional tariff of 10 per cent, which U.S. President Donald Trump levied on the grounds of national security.

Haakstad says families in the United States are also paying a price, because trade barriers have driven up the cost of building homes there and hurt companies that sell equipment and services to Canadian mills.