Chris Matthews Softwood Lumber Remarks on MSNBC’s Morning Joe

CONTACT: Zoltan van Heyningen

[email protected] | 202-805-9133

U.S. Lumber Coalition Comments on Chris Matthews Softwood Lumber Remarks on MSNBC’s Morning Joe

Washington, D.C., April 10, 2025 – “The comments by Chris Matthews on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that the United States cannot make more lumber to replace unfairly traded imports is a clear demonstration of the media bias against President Trump’s appropriate U.S. trade law enforcement. Canada’s misinformation campaign against President Trump’s trade law enforcement priorities and support for increasing U.S. softwood lumber production has facilitated these types of misrepresentations by many in the media.  All in an effort to maintain Canada’s unjustified U.S. market share for their dumped and subsidized lumber products,” stated Andrew Miller, Chair/Owner of Stimson Lumber Company.  “As President Trump has said many times, we do not need Canada’s unfairly traded lumber imports,” added Mr. Miller.

“Canada and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) are trying to create the false impression that enforcing our trade laws is somehow an attack on Canada and U.S. consumers.  So here are some facts,” stated Zoltan van Heyningen, Executive Director of the U.S. Lumber Coalition.

“Since 2016 when duties on unfairly traded Canadian lumber imports were first imposed under the Trump Administration, the United States softwood lumber industry has increased its capacity by 9.2 billion board feet, which has resulted in the industry producing a cumulative additional 30 billion board feet of softwood lumber to supply the domestic market.  Canada today has an excess softwood lumber capacity of around 8.7 billion board feet, and is dumping their product into the U.S. market in violation of our trade laws,” explained van Heyningen.

“Through the Trump Administration’s ironclad enforcement of our antidumping and countervailing duty laws, and by implementing additional measures to address Canada’s excess softwood lumber capacity, the U.S. industry could dramatically increase its existing capacity utilization rate to produce an additional 6.1 billion board feet of lumber per year – enough to build over 400,000 thousand U.S. homes.  And with continued enforcement, additional new capacity is supported by the ample sustainable timber supply available in the United States,” continued van Heyningen.

“We urge the general media to understand the facts before regurgitating tired old Canadian and NAHB talking points that are misleading the general public and are simply designed to attack President Trump’s commitment to enforcing our trade laws and fighting against foreign unfair trade practices,” stated van Heyningen.

“Canada’s egregious unfair trade practices and abuse of the U.S. market is killing U.S. jobs and harming the stability of our domestic supply chain for Made in the U.S.A. softwood lumber.  Left unchecked, Canada’s massive excess lumber capacity and unfair trade practices would reduce the overall availability of softwood lumber for the U.S. market with serious long-term implications for the supply of lumber in the United States,” concluded van Heyningen.