President Donald Trump has set an additional 10 percent tariff on billions of dollars of softwood lumber imports from Canada as part of a broader “national security” action to help the U.S. industry and furniture makers.
The move is expected to further strain trade relations with Canada, whose lumber companies already face duties ranging from 26 percent to nearly 48 percent under a longstanding trade case brought by U.S. producers.
It also comes as the trading partners are embarking on a mandatory review next year of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that Trump negotiated during his first term to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Softwood lumber is used extensively in construction and to make paper products. The National Association of Home Builders has warned that additional tariffs could drive up the price of new homes and remodeling.
