Article content

The Canada-U.S. softwood lumber trade dispute intensified Monday after the U.S. Department of Commerce boosted the levy it imposes on Canadian lumber shipments to 26.75 per cent from 19.88 per cent.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said Canada is “dumping” lumber on the U.S. market at below market prices, and imposed a duty of 6.87 per cent against most Canadian producers. That’s on top of the 19.88 per cent duty the U.S. slapped on Canadian lumber shipments in April.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or U.S. slaps more duties on Canadian lumber shipments Back to video

Canadian industry officials deny the dumping allegation and vow to fight.

“The ongoing allegations leveled by the U.S. industry are without merit. This was proven in the last round of litigation and we fully expect it will be the case again,” said Susan Yurkovich, president of the BC Lumber Trade Council. “These duties result from the trade action which is part of the continued attempt by the protectionist U.S. lumber lobby to constrain imports of high-quality Canadian lumber into the U.S. market and to drive up prices for their benefit.”