Statement from the Forest Landowners Association on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Action on Canadian Softwood Lumber
The Forest Landowners Association commends the Department of Commerce and the Trump Administration for taking decisive action to enforce U.S. trade laws by raising antidumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber.
Unfairly traded Canadian lumber has long undercut the domestic market, suppressing prices and stifling investment in American mills and working forests. This announcement is a critical step toward ensuring that U.S. forest landowners and mills can compete on a level playing field.
In a letter we joined in May to President Trump, FLA, and over 200 businesses and organizations expressed support for strong enforcement of these trade laws. That letter noted that since 2016, U.S. mills have added 9 billion board feet of capacity—enough to build 2 million homes—and collected $7 billion in duties from Canadian producers. This growth was made possible by holding Canada accountable for its subsidized and dumped lumber exports.
As an organization representing many multigenerational family forest landowners, FLA is committed to sustaining the economic and environmental contributions of private working forests. To do this, landowners must have access to both traditional and emerging markets in order to continue their best management practices.
We appreciate the Trump Administration’s continued leadership in upholding U.S. trade laws and countering unfair trade practices that harm private forest landowners and the domestic wood products value chain.
Click here to read more about the Department of Commerce’s announcement