Trump imposes additional 10% tariff on lumber, 25% on wood products.
B.C. Premier David Eby is calling on the federal government to protect forestry workers as new tariffs imposed by the U.S. president threaten to topple an already struggling industry. On Tuesday, the U.S. slapped a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian lumber — on top of a 35 per cent tariff already in place.
The U.S. also put a 25 per cent tariff on some Canadian wood products, like furniture. The news is devastating for communities like Grand Forks, B.C., where local mill operations are already precarious. In early September, Interfor announced curtailments across all of its North American operations, including in Grand Forks. But last week, the community learned the mill would be shuttered indefinitely. Truck driver Doug Gailey is one of hundreds impacted by the shut down. “When [the closure] first started, we thought we’re going back on Oct. 6 … and then the first of October there they told everybody it was going to be indefinite,” Gailey told CBC’s Daybreak South.
He said it was a big shock to the community.
“Now we just gotta sit and wait and see what’s going to happen.” In an email to CBC News, Interfor’s vice-president of corporate communications and government relations Svetlana Kayumova said the decision to reduce operations in September, and then to halt operations in Grand Forks indefinitely, was the result of “persistently weak market conditions and ongoing economic uncertainty.” “We continue to face significant market headwinds and the ongoing impact of U.S. trade actions, including increasing softwood lumber duties,” she said. “These pressures have made it difficult to operate certain facilities sustainably. “
During a news conference on Tuesday, Eby demanded the feds provide funding to keep forestry workers afloat during what he described as “an additional attack” on the industry. Prime Minister Mark Carney promised $1.2 billion in support for the softwood lumber industry in August, but B.C. Council of Forest Industries president Kim Haakstad said that money has not yet come through. Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar said he wants to see that funding “not tomorrow, but today.” Source: cbc.ca/news/canada/bc
