The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has formed an alliance as to provide the American consumers with a stable and reliable supply of lumber and building materials, once the Softwood Lumber Agreement expired in October 2015, according to LBM Journal.
In addition to the NAHB, founder members of the American Alliance of Lumber Consumers (AALC) include the National Retail Federation and the National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association.
The U.S. and Canada are currently in a one-year cooling-off period following the agreement's expiry, during which no trade disputes relating to softwood lumber imports can be filed by either country. The two nations are also exploring options for a long-term agreement and are committed to submit a report within the next 100 days.
The AALC supports free trade in lumber and building materials, backing NAHB's position that any new agreement should be mindful of the U.S. housing market and provide American consumers with a stable, dependable and affordable supply of lumber. The group also believes that any deal should also allow home builders to provide safe, decent, affordable housing at competitive prices, LBM Journal reported.
According to the NAHB, the current share of Canadian imported lumber in the U.S. market is 28% on a three-year average basis, and the AALC believes that any restrictive trade agreements imposing, quotas, tariffs and other border tax measures could create large and unpredictable swings in the cost and supply of lumber and other building materials, which could impact housing affordability.
The AALC is calling on the U.S. government to allow home builders, other downstream industries and consumers to participate in the formulation of trade policies and acknowledge the important role that they play in the U.S. economy, LBM Journal reported.
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