Levies chipping away at Canada's lumber industry

By raising duties on Canadian lumber, the United States is contending that the producers benefit from unfair subsidies and sell products below market value.

However, British Columbia Premier David Eby called it an "attack on forest workers and British Columbians" on April 5. "In Canada, the continued unjustified softwood lumber duties, combined with additional US tariffs and other trade actions, have united Canadians."

The US Commerce Department on April 4 proposed raising the average combined duty rate on Canadian softwood lumber imports from 14.4 percent to 34.45 percent.