Canadian Forest Product Sector responds to outcome of U.S.Section 232 investigation
Canada’s forest products sector strongly opposes the United States administration’s decision to impose additional punitive tariffs not only on softwood lumber but also on derivative products, including furniture and kitchen cabinets.
The targeting of Canada’s forestry products under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act is unjustified and disregards decades of evidence and cooperation that confirm Canadian forest products strengthen, rather than threaten, U.S. national security. This broad action further undermines a deeply integrated North American supply chain that supports housing affordability, infrastructure, manufacturing, and shared prosperity and security on both sides of the border.
Canadian lumber exporters already face steep duties, with combined anti-dumping and countervailing rates now exceeding 35% for most producers. Adding the new Section 232 tariffs pushes the total duty burden to over 45%. This compounds pressure, distorts markets, threatens jobs on both sides of the border, and escalates trade tensions at a time when housing supply challenges demand greater cooperation, not less.
Canada remains a reliable ally and secure supplier. Our forest product exports help satisfy U.S. demand that domestic producers cannot meet, ensuring a stable housing supply and supporting broader economic resilience. Canadian forest products have never posed a national security threat, and implementing these new tariffs only serves to weaken the bilateral relationship and raise costs for U.S. consumers.
“Imposing further tariffs on Canadian lumber will hurt American families trying to build, renovate, or upgrade their homes. Expanding the scope of this action to include products like furniture and kitchen cabinetry is reckless, harmful to the economy, and further destabilizes the broader North American forest sector supply chain. This misguided move risks raising housing costs in the United States and undermines the integrated trade relationship that has provided jobs, investment, and prosperity in both countries,” said Derek Nighbor, President and CEO, Forest Products Association of Canada.
FPAC members remain committed to supplying responsibly sourced, high-quality lumber to the U.S. market. To bring stability back, both governments need to re-engage in earnest toward a durable, negotiated settlement. Prolonging the dispute only deepens uncertainty and risk. We need to find a path to an agreement that provides the balance and predictability that manufacturers, workers, and consumers across North America urgently need.
FPAC provides a voice for Canada’s wood, pulp, and paper producers nationally and internationally in government, trade, and environmental affairs. As an industry with annual revenues exceeding $87.2B, Canada’s forest products sector is one of the country’s largest employers—providing 200,000 direct jobs and operating in hundreds of communities across the country. Our members are committed to collaborating with Indigenous leaders, government bodies, and other key stakeholders to develop a cross-Canada action plan aimed at advancing forest health, while supporting workers, communities and our environment for the long term.
