U.S. home builders urge Biden to end Canada lumber tariffs
Softwood duties sticking point in Trump era
The biggest U.S. home builders group urged the biden administration to help increase lumber supply, saying record-high costs threaten to price potential home buyers out of the market and curb construction.
The administration needs to remove import tariffs on Canadian lumber and urge producers to boost output, the National Association of Home builders said Friday on its website. In November, the U.S. department of Commerce reduced its duties on Canadian softwood lumber by more than half to 9 per cent.
The association’s request comes as U.S. lumber prices soar to levels never seen before, stoking concern that inflation is spreading more broadly across the economy at a time when food costs are also rising and millions remain out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic. Inflation expectations for the next 12 months are at the highest level in six years, according to the university of Michigan.
“NAHB is urging President biden and Congress to help mitigate this growing threat to housing and the economy by urging domestic lumber producers to ramp up production to ease growing shortages and to make it a priority to end tariffs on Canadian lumber shipments into the u.s. that are exacerbating unprecedented price volatility in the lumber market,” said NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke.
Lumber prices have more than doubled from the middle of last year, disregarding what is typically a seasonal slow period during the North American winter. Low interest rates and pandemic-inspired home renovations and building have caused an unexpected surge in demand for building materials.
The number of single-family houses being built in the U.S. soared last year, and by december reached the highest since 2006.
Earlier this week, NAHB said the u.s. median home price in the fourth quarter of 2020 rose to US$320,000 versus US$313,000 in the prior quarter, raising affordability concerns.