US lowers total duties on Canadian softwood lumber to almost 35%

Canadian softwood lumber now faces total US import taxes of almost 35 per cent after a Commerce Department review, down from 45 per cent announced in August last year.

What makes up the total

• Countervailing duties: 14.11%
• Anti-dumping duties: 10.64%
• National-security tariff: 10%

The anti-dumping rate fell to 10.64 per cent from 20.53, countervailing duties to 14.11 per cent from 14.63, and the 10 per cent national-security tariff is unchanged.

Any reduction is better, but we would prefer a truly negotiated agreement between Canada and the United States.

— Kim Haakstad, BC Lumber Trade Council

Why it matters

A University of British Columbia forestry professor says the cut is an automatic recalculation, not a negotiated deal, and that for many mills stopping now makes more sense than producing at a loss.