Wednesday February 5, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Advancing British Columbia’s interests in the long-standing softwood lumber dispute with the United States is the mission of a new council.
The council brings together leaders from the forestry sector and labour, alongside experts on U.S. relations and officials from the B.C. government.
The B.C. Softwood Lumber Advisory Council convened its first meeting on January 30, 2025 amidst the growing economic challenge from the United States over tariffs.
Parmar chairs the council:
With Parmar as chair, the B.C. Softwood Lumber Advisory Council will focus on diplomatic and trade strategy and measures to fight for B.C.’s interests in the softwood lumber dispute with the U.S.
Role of the council:
The council will meet regularly to advise the Minister of Forests on the dispute, including the sixth administrative review, providing recommendations on steps B.C. can take to eliminate the 14.4% softwood lumber duties.
The council will also help the Province advocate to the federal government as these duties continue to take their toll on B.C.’s forestry sector.
Ten-member council:
The B.C. Softwood Lumber Advisory Council members are:
- Harry Bains, former minister of labour, Government of B.C.
- Dan Battistella, former president, Interior Lumber Manufacturers’ Association
- Linda Coady, former president and CEO, BC Council of Forest Industries
- Geoff Dawe, national president, Public and Private Workers of Canada
- Rick Doman, chairman, Boreal Carbon Corporation and former forestry executive
- Scott Lunny, western director, United Steelworkers
- Gavin McGarrigle, western regional director, Unifor
- Ric Slaco, former vice-president and chief forester, Interfor
- Dallas Smith, president and CEO, Na̲nwak̲olas Council
Full weight of BC into the tariff fight:
“The U.S. has imposed unjustified softwood lumber duties on Canada for years, and we anticipate that they will likely double before the end of this year,” says BC Forests Minister Ravi Parmar.
“Bringing this team together, I am ready to throw the full weight of B.C. in the ring to fight these duties. We are going to defend the hard-working forestry workers of B.C. from these unfair duties,” said Parmar in a news release today.
Key sector:
Forestry is a key sector of the BC economy:
- B.C. softwood lumber accounts for nearly 10% of lumber used to build American homes.
- Canada is the U.S.’s largest source of forest product imports, making up 44% in 2023.
- U.S. consumers will pay for these tariffs and duties, leading to higher prices for the goods and materials people need to build homes, or repair and remodel them.
- In 2023, B.C. exported more than $3.3 billion worth of softwood lumber to the U.S.
Canadian softwood currently sells below-market:
“The U.S. forest industry alleges that Canadian softwood lumber is subsidized and companies sell in the U.S. at below-market prices,” Parmar said.
“This is wrong; these allegations couldn’t be farther from the truth. We’ve been very clear that we’re happy to come to the table, but that can’t happen if the U.S. industry isn’t willing to negotiate,” it was stated by Parmar today.
Dispute over decades:
Although this dispute with the U.S. goes back decades, this most recent iteration of the dispute follows the expiry of the Softwood Lumber Agreement in 2015.
At the request of the U.S. lumber industry, the U.S. imposed duties on Canadian softwood lumber, starting in 2017. The B.C. government has worked with the Government of Canada to pursue claims through all available avenues, including under the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, the World Trade Organization and the U.S. Court of International Trade.
Past dispute settlement panels have consistently ruled in Canada’s favour in the ongoing softwood lumber dispute, determining that B.C.’s forest policies are compliant with international agreements.
See: history of softwood lumber dispute and the actions B.C.
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