The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, today issued the following statement regarding the United States’ unwarranted and unfair duties on softwood lumber from Canada:
“Today, Canada filed notice that it will challenge, under Chapter 10 of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), the final results of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s third administrative reviews of its anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders on softwood lumber from Canada.
“Canada is disappointed that the United States continues to impose unwarranted and unfair duties on softwood lumber from Canada. The only fair outcome would be for the United States to meet its CUSMA obligations and cease applying unjustified duties on all Canadian softwood lumber products.
“The United States has long relied on competitive Canadian lumber products to meet its domestic needs for high-quality, sustainable and innovative building materials. These unjustified duties on softwood products from Canada not only harm Canadian communities, businesses, and workers, but they amount to a tax on U.S. consumers, affecting housing affordability at a time of supply challenges and inflationary pressures.
“Canada will always defend its softwood lumber industry, the workers, and the communities it supports. Taking legal action under CUSMA represents another step in Canada’s ongoing defence of its forestry sector.
“Canada’s softwood lumber industry is a key driver of economic activity across our country and an essential component of Canada’s forestry sector, which contributed more than $34.8 billion to the country’s GDP in 2021 and employs some 205,000 workers.
“Our government has been consistent in expressing a willingness to work with the United States toward a negotiated solution to this long-standing trade issue that would allow a return to predictable cross-border trade in softwood lumber.”