Trump hits Canadian lumber producers with additional 10 per cent tariff

A worker sorts lumber at the Gorman Brothers Lumber sawmill, in West Kelowna, B.C., on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump issued more tariffs on Monday evening that could add further pressure on Canadian producers of softwood lumber and furniture. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

U.S. President Donald Trump has issued new tariffs that could add further pressure on Canadian producers of softwood lumber and furniture.

A presidential proclamation on Monday evening set out a 10 per cent duty on imports of softwood timber and lumber, along with a 25 per cent levy on imports of kitchen cabinets and vanities -- both parts and completed models -- and other upholstered wooden products.

The tariffs are scheduled to take effect Oct. 14.

The rate applied to kitchen cabinets and vanities is set to jump to 50 per cent on Jan. 1, with the levy on other upholstered wooden products rising to 30 per cent in the new year, unless countries reach a deal with the U.S.

The White House said products affected by the proclamation are not subject to Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs -- the package of import duties he announced April 2. However, the new tariffs are in addition to any other duties previously applied to imported wood products.

The duties come following a report delivered to Trump by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Trump said a probe by Lutnick found wood products were being imported into the U.S. “in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States.”

The proclamation laid out an Oct. 1, 2026 deadline for Lutnick to update Trump on the status of wood product imports so the president can determine “whether imposing an additional duty on imports of hardwood timber or lumber ... is warranted to address a threat to national security.”

The British Columbia Lumber Trade Council called the new tariffs “misguided and unnecessary.”

“These tariffs will not improve U.S. national security -- they will only drive-up lumber costs, making housing even less affordable for American families and undermining the integrated trade relationship that benefits both our countries,” said council president Kurt Niquidet in a statement.

The U.S. has long accused Canada’s softwood lumber sector of violating rules on anti-dumping -- flooding a market with cheaper, subsidized products to disrupt a domestic industry.

The U.S. Commerce Department announced plans last month to nearly triple duties on Canadian softwood lumber to just over 20 per cent.

But the B.C. Lumber Trade Council said that with Canadian producers already facing anti-dumping and countervailing duties of just over 35 per cent, Canadian softwood lumber entering the U.S. will now see total import taxes exceeding 45 per cent.

“This will impose needless strain on the North American market, threaten jobs on both sides of the border, and make it harder to address the housing supply crisis in the United States,” the council’s statement said.

Targeting forestry products is “unjustified,” said the Forest Products Association of Canada, adding Trump’s decision “compounds pressure, distorts markets, threatens jobs on both sides of the border and escalates trade tensions at a time when housing supply challenges demand greater co-operation.”

“Expanding the scope of this action to include products like furniture and kitchen cabinetry is reckless, harmful to the economy, and further destabilizes the broader North American forest sector supply chain,” said the association’s president and CEO Derek Nighbor in a statement.

“This misguided move risks raising housing costs in the United States and undermines the integrated trade relationship that has provided jobs, investment and prosperity in both countries.”

RBC analyst Matthew McKellar said the new levy would heap even more pressure on Canadian lumber producers in an already weak market.

“Tariffs will potentially accelerate curtailments of Canadian supply that we think are likely necessary even under a status quo scenario,” McKellar said in a note to analysts.

“With a date for new tariffs to take effect now set, we wonder if lumber prices could push higher over the next two weeks.”

Earlier this month, Canada dropped two legal challenges of U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber.

Global Affairs Canada spokeswoman Dina Destin said in a statement that the decision to drop the two appeals was made “in close consultation with Canadian industry, provinces and key partners, and it reflects a strategic choice to maximize long-term interests and prospects for a negotiated resolution with the United States.”

She said Canada still believes U.S. anti-dumping duties on softwood lumber are unfair and Ottawa is still pursuing six other legal challenges on the matter.

Prime Minister Mark Carney last month promised an aid package for the lumber industry that includes $700 million in loan guarantees and $500 million for long-term supports to help companies diversify export markets and develop their products.

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This report by Sammy Hudes of The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2025.