U.S. review lowers Canadian softwood lumber import taxes to nearly 35%

Following a fresh assessment by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the total import tax on Canadian softwood lumber has been adjusted to just under 35 percent, a decline from the 45 percent figure announced last August. The B.C. Lumber Trade Council, representing British Columbia’s lumber sector, detailed that the revised rate comprises a 14.11 percent countervailing duty, a 10.64 percent anti-dumping duty and a 10 percent tariff justified on national-security grounds.

Interim president Kim Haakstad expressed disappointment that, despite the reduction, the duties remain punitive and strain producers and forest-dependent towns. She added that American families also feel the impact, as the trade barriers raise construction costs and affect companies supplying equipment to Canadian mills. The softwood lumber dispute, now approaching a decade, continues to shape cross-border trade dynamics.