Strong U.S. trade law enforcement measures coupled with the appropriate application of Section 232 tariff measures have resulted in reducing Canada's softwood lumber market share in the U.S. from 32 percent in 2016 to an average of 18.6 percent over the most recent quarter of available data. This significant reduction in Canadian market share comes as a direct result of the U.S. Lumber Coalition filing trade cases against unfairly traded and harmful Canadian softwood lumber imports and President Trump's imposition of Section 232 tariff measures.
Canada's massive and disruptive excess lumber capacity continues to be the engine of Canada's harmful dumping practices, and Canada's multi-billion dollar federal and provincial subsidy schemes are maintaining Canada's excess lumber capacity. Canada has for decades edged out U.S. lumber production in order to maintain artificially high market share levels as Canadian lumber producers unload their excess lumber production into the United States.
"The latest Canadian market share data demonstrates that Canadian imports can and should be replaced by U.S. production. More U.S. lumber produced by U.S. workers to provide a more stable domestic supply of lumber for U.S. housing is a win for American forestry workers and communities," stated Zoltan van Heyningen, Executive Director of the U.S. Lumber Coalition.
"Every Administration since the Reagan Administration has investigated Canadian unfair softwood lumber trade practices and has come to the conclusion that Canada engages in dumping their excess lumber product into the United States at unfair prices and that Canadian softwood lumber producers enjoy the benefit of massive federal and provincial subsidies to help maintain Canada's excess lumber capacity", said van Heyningen.
"The most recent USMCA panel decisions likewise have concluded that Canada engaged in dumping, is subsidizing its softwood lumber industry, and that Canadian softwood lumber imports are harming U.S. softwood lumber producers," added van Heyningen.
"Canada must address its harmful and disruptive massive excess lumber capacity by downsizing its lumber industry. Canada consumes roughly 7 billion board feet of lumber but has the capacity to produce close to 27 billion board feet of lumber. That excess lumber is systematically being dumped into the United States to the detriment of U.S. softwood lumber producers, U.S. workers, and U.S. forestry dependent communities. Strict trade law enforcement and President Trump's Section 232 tariffs forcing Canada to reduce its U.S. market share. We must continue on this track and force Canadian market share into the low single digits in order to eliminate its unfair trade practices," concluded van Heyningen.
U.S. lumber community voices on President Trump's trade law enforcement and the positive impacts on U.S. manufacturing.
About the U.S. Lumber Coalition
The U.S. Lumber Coalition is an alliance of large and small softwood lumber producers from around the country, joined by their employees and woodland owners, working to address Canada's unfair lumber trade practices.
