U.S. plans to hike existing duties on Canadian lumber even before planned tariffs hit

Workers stack and sort softwood lumber at Groupe Crete, a sawmill in Mont-Blanc, Que., Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

The decades-long softwood lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada is escalating even before planned tariffs take effect: The U.S. plans to more than double existing anti-dumping and countervailing duties on the critical building material.

The U.S. Department of Commerce, as part of an annual review process, plans to hike the duties from 14.4% to 34.45%, according to published and unpublished filings in the Federal Register.

The duties, which are separate from tariffs that have been proposed on softwood lumber, stem from a decades-long strife between the North American neighbours. Put simply, the U.S. claims that the Canadian lumber industry is government-subsidized.

British Columbia Premier David Eby said the duties are “unjustified” in a statement released Saturday, adding that the duties will end up “driving up housing costs for Americans who voted for a president who promised to lower costs.”

American homebuilders have been sounding a similar alarm as President Donald Trump has floated tariffs on Canadian imports as well as sector-specific tariffs on lumber.

About 30% of the softwood lumber consumed in the U.S. is imported, with Canada accounting for north of 80% of those imports. Builders estimate that tariffs on lumber and other critical homebuilding materials could raise the average cost of a home by $9,200, according to the March National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

However, members of the U.S. lumber industry say higher duties as well as new tariffs would help level the playing the field. They also say the existing U.S. industry has a significant amount of existing capacity that’s not currently being utilized.

“These unfair trade practices are designed by Canada to maintain an artificially inflated US market share for Canadian products and force U.S. companies to curtail production, thereby killing U.S. jobs,” Andrew Miller, chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition, said in a statement.

Jason Brochu, co-president of Pleasant River Lumber in Maine, told CNN earlier this month that his two mills in the Pine Tree State are running at 60% capacity. But if the demand is there, he could increase its workforce and production in a matter of months.

“We could ramp up fairly quickly,” Brochu said in an interview with CNN. “The saw mill industry has modernized a lot, and speaking for our location and our region, bringing in the employment isn’t a major impediment.”

“It can happen fairly quickly,” he added.