Members Of Congress Urge Elimination of Tariffs On Canadian Lumber Imports
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai told Senate lawmakers that she would push for solutions to the lumber pricing issues.
Members of Congress and officials within the Biden Administration appear to be listening to the pleas from the building industry, led predominantly by the National Association of Homebuilders, to intervene as skyrocketing lumber prices drive up home prices.
In a May 12 Senate Finance Committee hearing, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai told Senate lawmakers that she would “push for solutions to the lumber pricing issues” and address the issue of tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber imports into the United States. She echoed the sentiment the next day in a House hearing, in which four bipartisan members of Congress discussed the need to boost lumber production and end tariffs on Canadian lumber imports into the US.
And separately, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) cited NAHB statistics in a recent floor statement discussing how rising lumber prices have added nearly $36,000 to the price of a new home and a $13,000 increase in the market value of a multifamily unit. In his speech, he also called for the elimination of lumber tariffs and to “boost the domestic types of the types of lumber used in home construction.”
The NAHB has been sounding the alarm on rising lumber prices for at least six months, particularly since the cost began rising rapidly in December. Earlier this month, NAHB CEO Jerry Howard and his senior staff met virtually with White House staff from the Domestic Policy Council, National Economic Council and the Office of the Vice President, and discussed issues including mill capacity issues, mill worker shortages, and the impact of lumber prices on the housing affordability crisis. The NAHB has urged the White House to hold a summit on lumber and building material supply chain issues and to temporarily ease the 9% tariffs on Canadian lumber to beat back pricing volatility.
NAHB has also asked the Commerce Department to investigate why levels of lumber production and sawmill output remain low despite booming demand for materials.