US finds Canada lumber harms US producers, hefty duties to remain
WASHINGTON: The US International Trade Commission said it made a final finding that exports of softwood lumber from Canada injure US producers, virtually ensuring that hefty duties on imports of the building material will remain in place for five years.
The decision will impose antidumping and anti- subsidy duties affecting about US$ 5.66 billion worth of lumber and comes amid increasingly acrimonious talks on renegotiating NAFTA, the trilateral trade pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The US Lumber Coalition, an industry lobby group that petitioned the US Commerce Department last year to open a dumping and subsidy investigation, lauded the decision on Thursday.
“The evidence presented to the ITC was clear – the massive subsidies that the Canadian government provides to its lumber industry and the dumping of lumber products into the US market by Canadian companies cause real harm to US producers and workers,” Coalition Co- Chair Jason Brochu said in a statement.
The Canadian government, which has denied the dumping and subsidy charges, last week formally opened a case against the United States at the World Trade Organization over the Commerce Department’s decision to impose the duties.
That followed the launch by Ottawa last month of a NAFTA trade challenge over the move.
The combined final duty rates on the material used widely to build homes range from about 10 per cent to nearly 24 per cent, below a preliminary range of about 17 per cent to 31 per cent.
The affected Canadian firms are West Fraser Timber Co Ltd , Canfor Corp, Conifex Timber Inc, Western Forest Products Inc, Interfor Corp and Resolute FP Canada Ltd. — Reuters