A pair of provincial ministers have weighed in after countervailing and antidumping duties have been applied to Canada’s softwood lumber exports to the United States:
Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests, and Jagrup Brar, Minister of State for Trade, have issued the following joint statement in response to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s final determination in its fourth administrative review regarding countervailing and antidumping duties applied to Canada’s softwood lumber exports.
“We strongly disagree with the United States Department of Commerce’s claims. The federal and B.C. governments have been clear and adamant from the outset: duties on B.C. and Canadian softwood lumber exports to the U.S. are unjustified,” they said in a Thursday statement.
“British Columbia’s 52,000 hard-working forest industry workers deserve better than these unwarranted barriers to their prosperity, and we will continue to fight against these duties.”
The pair added U.S. duties are hurting people on both sides of the shared border, increasing material costs for Americans and creating uncertainty for forestry professionals and communities in BC, and Canada.
