U.S. Commerce Department Sets 24.75% Duty on Canadian Softwood Lumber

Zoltan van Heyningen, executive director of the U.S. Lumber Coalition, characterized the decision as a necessary check on what he described as egregious dumping practices by Canadian sawmills. The Coalition maintains that these trade enforcement measures are essential to protecting domestic production and ensuring that U.S. forestry jobs remain stable despite fluctuations in housing starts.

Steve Swanson, CEO of Swanson Group and chair of the Coalition, noted that Canada’s market share in the U.S. has declined to levels unseen since the 1970s. According to industry leadership, the current trade policy framework encourages domestic investment by securing market space for American-made lumber, which they claim is vital for supporting more than 1.3 million forestry-related positions across the country.