The U.S. Department of Commerce has opened a new review of antidumping and countervailing duty measures on key wood imports, with Canadian softwood lumber exporters already carrying a combined tariff burden of 35.19 per cent heading into the process. That is according to a notice published by the department on March 9, 2026, which sets a deadline of January 31, 2027, for final results.
Three product categories are under examination. Canadian softwood lumber faces review under antidumping order A-122-857 and countervailing duty order C-122-858 for all of calendar year 2025. Chinese certain hardwood plywood products — under antidumping order A-570-051 — and Chinese wooden bedroom furniture under order A-570-890 are included for the same period.
Commerce said it may limit the number of companies examined, selecting respondents through U.S. import data or quantity-and-value questionnaires. The data will be placed on the record within 5 days of the initiation notice, with respondent selection to follow within 35 days. For wooden bedroom furniture, quantity-and-value responses are due within 21 days; separate-rate certifications within 14 days.
The duty burden on Canadian exporters has risen sharply. Combined antidumping and countervailing rates climbed from 14.40 per cent under the fifth administrative review to 35.19 per cent under the sixth, and U.S. producers show no sign of backing off. Andrew Miller, chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition, said the duties target practices “designed by Canada to maintain an artificially inflated US market share for Canadian products and force US companies to curtail production, thereby killing US jobs.”
The Chinese furniture picture was equally difficult in 2025. The U.S. remains China’s largest wood furniture export market, absorbing 27 per cent of total shipments — but volumes fell 7.1 per cent to 129.4 million pieces, export value dropped 20 per cent to US$5.6 billion, and average unit prices declined 14 per cent to $43 per piece.
