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Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into the dumping on the US wood market and prepared the stage for the industry to join the extended shopping cart with the global trade war in Washington.
On Saturday, the President instructed the Ministry of Commerce to investigate whether the imports of wood and wood products undermine domestic lumberjacks in a way that was a risk to the US national security, days after ordering a similar review of the copper industry.
If the examination sets information on dumping, the President can impose retaliation such as quotas and tariffs. Canada, by far the largest source of US spotes, would be hardest.
“There is clearly something going on here. We know that with these exporters there are massive subsidies that take advantage of our market, ”said a White House Official Officer before ordering.
“But it is due to (commercial) secretary Howard Lutnick To examine this and return with a report to the president. ”
While Canadian wooden inports are already under tariffs of 14.5 percent, the announcement is the first formal step to draw the industry in Trump’s global trade war. All new tariffs would be in addition to the existing Canadian taxes.
It is the evening before 25 percent tariffs that are to be introduced in Canada and Mexico next week, as well as another 10 percent for Chinese imports, since Trump increases the pressure on US trading partners.
The president has also tried to address certain industries in which he argues that imports undermine domestic industry. After a similar examination of this sector during his first term, he will impose 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
On Tuesday he terminated an investigation Triggered into the imports of copper and the fears that the metal would have been hit the next sector with tariffs.
The United States had a long -standing feud with Canada for wooden inports. In 2023 it imported about 34 million cubic foot still wood wood. The vast majority of them – over 28 million CU FT – came from Canada. The next largest, Germany and Sweden, sent less than 3.5 million CU FT together.
Forestry is a big business for Canada. In 2022, the C $ 33.4 billion sector contributed to the real GDP or about 1.2 percent. In the same year, the Canadian forest products were rated with $ 45.6 billion, with the majority being intended for the United States for the United States.
The province of British Columbia, in which both Canadian forestry and companies are high concentration, have spent decades against courts against US taxes and anti-dumping obligations.
In 2016, the US wood industry initiated the recent legal round and asked the trade department to “act as a” Canadian wood, is unjustly subsidized and unloaded to the US market ” opinion from the BC government.
The dispute depends on the practical practice of Canadian forestry to procure wood from Kronland, or parks that are led by the provinces, so that production and administrative costs are lower than for US forestry companies that rely on private land.
Since Trump has become president, he has repeatedly approached the problem and threatened tariffs for wooden inports.
Derek Nighbor, President of the Forest Products Association of Canada, said that every increase in tariffs on wood on both sides of the border would affect the forest sector and American families who are looking for affordable living space.
“We should concentrate on strengthening our competitive advantages, building up more affordable apartments, working together to eliminate the deterioration risks and bring more North American wood into the world,” he said in a statement last month.
But Andrew Miller, owner of Stimson Lumber and chairman of the US wood coalition, said: “Canada’s unfair trade is based on the direct costs of the US companies and workers.”
