New Talks With Canada on Lumber Tariffs Depend on Canada Addressing Trade Concerns, US Trade Representative Tells Senate Subcommittee

Appearing on Wednesday (6-22-22) before a meeting of the U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that the US is open to fresh negotiations with Canada to resolve a longstanding dispute over US tariffs on softwood lumber.

The softwood lumber tariffs are the legacy of a decades-long trade dispute over the structure of Canada’s timber sector that could not be resolved when a quota agreement expired in 2015.

Tai reiterated that core sticking points remain. Tai told the subcommittee that a new lumber trade agreement requires the Canadian government to address US concerns that its polices amount to subsidies for Canadian producers. The United States has said that Canadian timber harvested from federal and provincial lands with low government-set stumpage fees constitutes an unfair subsidy, while most US timber is harvested from private land at market rates.

A spokesperson for Canada’s International Trade Minster Mary Ng indicated that Canada was ready and looking forward to meeting with the US on the subject.