With the announcement of the first round of duties a few weeks ago, official answers have started coming — but there’s still plenty of uncertainty and potential for volatility left in the immediate wake. 

 

 

The flurry of activity began when the existing Softwood Lumber Agreement between the U.S. and Canada expired in October 2015, followed by the lapse of the subsequent grace period in October 2016. The deal had addressed concerns by U.S. lumber producers that, due to subsidies from their provincial governments, some Canadian mills were able to sell their products into the U.S. at below-market rates, which the U.S. producers alleged gave an unfair advantage.

 

In the absence of a new agreement since the grace period ended in October, lumber dealers and builders have been bracing for the U.S. government to begin placing duties on Canadian lumber imports to balance the impact of the subsidies. The anticipation of the tariffs, and the likelihood that they would be retroactively enforced, sent softwood lumber prices in the U.S. climbing: up 7.2% in the first quarter of 2017 and 12.9% from March of last year.  Read the Article by Katie Katy Tomasulo on Construction Dive