Could Canadian lumber face U.S. tariff? Trump orders probe

After floating the idea of potential tariffs on lumber, President Donald Trump ordered a probe into U.S. imports that must be completed within 270 days.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered a new trade investigation that could heap more tariffs on imported lumber, adding to existing duties on Canadian softwood lumber and 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican goods due next week.

In his third new tariff probe in a week, Trump signed a memo ordering Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to initiate a national security investigation into U.S. lumber imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The trade law is the one Trump also used to impose tariffs on global steel and aluminum imports.

The probe covers derivative products made from lumber which could include furniture such as kitchen cabinets, which in some cases are made of U.S. lumber that had been exported.

The order said the Commerce Department investigation must be completed within 270 days.

Trump also ordered new steps within 90 days to increase the domestic supply of lumber by streamlining the permitting process for harvesting lumber from public lands and improving the salvage of fallen trees from forests and waterways.

The order calls for new or updated agency guidance to facilitate increased timber production, including quicker approvals for forestry projects under the Endangered Species Act.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the lumber import probe would counteract the actions of big lumber exporters including Canada, Germany and Brazil, which he said were “dumping lumber into our markets at the expense of both our economic prosperity and national security.”

“That stops today with a pair of Trumpian actions designed to both bolster supply of and demand for American timber and lumber,” he told reporters on a conference call ahead of the signing.