It’s official. Donald Trump’s tariffs on US‑bound softwood timber, lumber and finished furniture have come into full effect, a move officials and industry leaders warn could reverberate through factories, towns and supply chains in the United States and around the world. Announced last month, the proclamation targets “imports of timber, lumber, and their derivative products,” the White House said, and directs a global 10 per cent tariff on softwood lumber alongside a 25 per cent global tariff on kitchen cabinets, vanities and certain upholstered furniture, with those rates due to rise sharply from Jan. 1.
As it stands, about one‑third of the lumber used in U.S. construction is imported, with roughly 80 per cent of those imports coming from Canada, meaning that approximately 20–30 per cent of the softwood lumber used in U.S. housing originates in Canadian mills. According to the powerful National Association of Home Builders, the measures “will create additional headwinds for an already challenged housing market by further raising construction and renovation costs,” warning that higher duties will push up material costs for builders and remodelers, worsen housing affordability, and slow project starts.
Industry figures say replacing that imported supply with domestic production will be neither quick nor cheap. Farooq Kathwari, chief executive of Ethan Allen, said, “Getting manufacturing started in the US isn’t easy.” Analysts have warned that planned January increases — including a rise that would lift duties on kitchen cabinets and vanities to 50 per cent — could deliver steep cost shocks to builders and consumers and further strain global supply chains.
In British Columbia, the Canadian province most exposed to the decision, Premier David Eby called the tariffs “an additional attack” on an industry already weakened by market conditions and urged Ottawa to treat the situation as a national emergency, Eby said. “What we’re asking for today is that that same respect, that same concern, that same sense of emergency is shared for the forest sector in this country,” he added, pressing the federal government to move on promised aid.
At a news conference, Eby said the federal response must arrive “not tomorrow, but today,” pointing to a $1.2‑billion support package Ottawa announced in August and warning the funds had not yet stabilised plants and workers at risk. In Grand Forks, B.C., where curtailments were announced in September, at least one mill has been shuttered indefinitely; Interfor linked the decision to “persistently weak market conditions and ongoing economic uncertainty,” the company said. Truck driver Doug Gailey described the local shock: “When the closure first started, we thought we’re going back on Oct. 6 … and then the first of October, they told everybody it was going to be indefinite,” Gailey said. “Now we just gotta sit and wait and see what’s going to happen.”
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt urged Ottawa to prioritise support for communities where forestry is central to local economies, saying “in some communities in New Brunswick, one in every 11 workers depends directly on forest products,” Ms Holt said, and warned that curtailments or closures would be “immediate and severe.” John Brink, chief executive of Brink Forest Products, called the tariffs “bizarre,” Brink said, and said he was disappointed they were not raised during recent high‑level talks between Canadian and U.S. leaders.
- To learn more about Trump’s proclamation, and why the administration believes that the U.S has enough lumber to supply 95% of its local market, click here for Wood Central’s special feature from last month.
