Trump Orders New Tariff Probe Into US Lumber Imports
US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered a new trade probe that could impose more tariffs on imported lumber, adding to existing duties on Canadian softwood lumber and a 25% tariff on all Canadian and Mexican goods that would take effect next week.
In his third new tariff probe in a week, Trump signed a memo directing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to launch a national security probe into US lumber imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the same trade law that Trump has used to impose tariffs on global steel and aluminum imports.
The probe would cover wood-derived products that could include furniture such as kitchen cabinets, which in some cases are made from exported US lumber.
The order said the Commerce Department probe must be completed within 270 days.
Trump also ordered new steps within 90 days to boost domestic lumber supplies by streamlining the permitting process for harvesting wood from public lands and increasing the salvage of fallen trees from forests and waterways.
The order calls for new or updated agency guidelines to facilitate increased timber production, including faster approvals for forestry projects under the Endangered Species Act.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the timber import probe would counter the actions of major timber exporters including Canada, Germany and Brazil, which he said were “dumping timber into our markets at the expense of our economic prosperity and our national security.”
“This ends today with a pair of Trumpian actions designed to increase the supply and demand for American timber and lumber,” he told reporters on a conference call before the signing.
A White House official said increased reliance on imported lumber is a potential national security risk, in part because the U.S. military consumes large amounts of wood for its construction activities and because increased reliance on imports for commodities with abundant domestic supplies is a danger to the U.S. economy.
The official did not provide details about the proposed tariffs under the Section 232 timber probe, but Trump told reporters earlier this month that he was considering imposing a 25% tariff on lumber and forest products.
The official said any tariffs resulting from the probe would be added to existing combined anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties of 14.5% on Canadian softwood lumber.
The duties are the result of a long-running U.S.-Canada trade dispute over low prices for Canadian lumber on public lands, which Washington says constitutes an unfair subsidy. Most U.S. lumber is harvested from private land at market-determined prices. Homebuilders have long criticized the tariffs for driving up lumber prices and contributing to housing price inflation.
The official said the new lumber duties would also add to the 25% overall U.S. tariffs that Trump has threatened on all Canadian and Mexican goods that are scheduled to take effect on Tuesday unless Trump is convinced by the two countries’ efforts to secure their borders and stop the fentanyl trade.
Source: Investing.com
