The US International Trade Commission (USITC) will keep on with its investigation into antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of softwood lumber products from Canada after concluding that the country's imports harm US producers.
Thus, a countervailing duty determination will be made around Feb. 20, and a preliminary antidumping duty determination is scheduled on or before May 4. The probe comes after leaders of the U.S. lumber industry called on the commission to slap import duties on Canadian softwood lumber amid claims it is subsidized and being sold in the U.S. below fair market value, as reported by Construction Dive.
The US Lumber Coalition together with a group including Weyerhaeuser and Potlach as well as the Carpenters Industrial Council claim that the duties are needed as to offset the harm that was done to the US lumber mills by the Canadian softwood subsidies and dumping of that product in the US.
During January-August 2016, the imports of Canadian softwood lumber increased by 33% as compared to the same period of 2015.
According to Construction Dive, the decision to call for the probe was sparked by a deadlock in negotiations between lumber leaders in the U.S. and Canada last summer, with the two sides unable to strike a new softwood lumber agreement following 100 days of negotiations. Discussions reached a stalemate over the U.S.'s aim to reduce Canada's market share to 22% over a four-year period.
During the softwood trade disputes between Canada and the US, the homebuilders met higher lumber costs. Thus, the National Association of Home Builders held talks with public and private interests in Chile last fall as to discuss the posibllity of rising the exports of softwood lumber and other lumber products to the US. At the moment, Chile represents about 1.22% of the U.S. lumber market.
