Trade Law and Duties

With its system of government subsidies and associated unfair trade practices, Canada is continuously displacing U.S. production and U.S. jobs through its sales of subsidized, below market-value softwood lumber to the United States.  Canada’s unfair trade practices have caused the market share of the U.S. lumber industry to dwindle with lost sales and revenues leading to mill closures and job cuts in communities all across America.

Strong enforcement of the U.S. trade laws, or an effective and durable softwood lumber agreement, is critical for American lumber manufacturers and timberland owners. In their current system, Canadian producers receive advantages due to their unfair subsidies. Rules-based trade is essential to ensuring that all parties compete on a level playing field, and duties are a purposeful and WTO-consistent action that achieves this goal, giving U.S. lumber producers a fair opportunity. Full enforcement of U.S. trade laws allows the U.S. industry to invest and grow to its natural size without being impaired by unfairly traded imports.