Canadian hopes for tariff relief from the Trump administration were dashed when the United States imposed another levy on the country’s forestry industry.
The additional 10 percent tariff comes on Tuesday on top of a 35 percent duty already in place, prompting British Columbia Premier David Eby to call on the federal government to provide financial support for forestry workers.
The forestry sector is a major economic driver for the west coast province, which in 2024 exported an estimated $3.9 billion in wood products to the United States, according to provincial figures, and another $700 million in pulp and paper products.
The industry supports around 100,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs in the softwood sector, according to the BC Lumber Trade Council.
‘Additional attack’
In addition to lumber, the United States also announced a 25 percent tariff on products such as furniture.
"Our friends south of the border, with whom we have worked side by side, fought side by side, that we have worse market access than Russia, an international pariah who has launched a war of aggression on Ukraine," Eby said during a news conference.
He described the new measure as an "additional attack" on the industry and urged Ottawa to respond with direct assistance.
"When auto parts makers, when steelworkers in Ontario, when their jobs are threatened, it’s treated as an emergency, and rightly so," he said.
"What we’re asking for today is that same respect, that same concern, that same sense of emergency be shared for the forest sector in this country."
Eby said the tariff escalation puts Canada’s softwood lumber producers at a further disadvantage compared with international competitors.
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney travelled to Washington to discuss trade tensions with US President Donald Trump.
During a joint press conference, Trump said Canada would "walk away very happy" from the talks — a statement now sharply contrasted by this latest move from Washington.
The Canadian government has not yet announced any specific response to the new tariffs.
