NAFTA Ruling Could Eliminate U.S. Tarriffs on Canadian Lumber

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ruling by a North American Free Trade Agreement dispute panel could lead to the elimination of duties placed on Canadian lumber by the United States, Bloomberg News reported.

The five-member panel refused to reconsider an earlier ruling that the U.S. Commerce Department made an improper calculation of Canadian subsidies to its lumber industry, Bloomberg said.

Claiming Canada subsidizes lumber companies, the United States in 2002 began imposing antidumping duties of about 27% on the lumber. Canada supplies about a third of the U.S. market for softwood — easily-sawed pine, spruce and other wood used in homebuilding.

The duties were lowered to 8.7% late last year, while Commerce appealed, but Friday’s decision could lower the tariffs to under 1%, Bloomberg reported.

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