The U.S. Commerce Department has set new rates for counterveiling and anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber imports that are slightly lower than when they were originally set.
The new combined rates average out to 8.9%. For some companies, the duties totalled 20% when the duties were first applied.
The new rates are the result of an administrative review by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
“While the reduction in duty rates from this first Administrative Review is a step in the right direction, the fact that we’re still paying duties on our lumber products sold to the U.S. market is both frustrating and disappointing," Susan Yurkovich, CEO of the Council of Forest Industries (COFI), said in a press release.
"As we have consistently said, and as has been proven in previous rounds of litigation, the Canadian industry is not subsidized, and this trade action leveled by U.S. producers is completely without merit."
